Purple Flame
by ihearthorses6000
Summary: "Isn't it fascinating, Jack? How for three hundred years your immortal sister mourned over your death, alone, while you had no memory of her...and now that you know," the dark silhouette stepped out of the shadows, chuckling, "she's dead." (Sucky summary, but a must-read for ROTG fans. Rating K for mild language.)
1. Chapter 1

Amber: (Nine years)

I smiled, thinking of how Jack would always use fun to capture, crush, and burn my fear. Then he would hug me, whisper in my ear, and tell me I was alright. And I would always feel safe.

_Jack made me safe._ I grinned wider at the thought, and Jack smiled in response. It was a perfect moment. But, due to how much fate and life seems to hate everyone, a perfect moment just needs to be ruined.

The ice cracked under him. His smile disappeared and fear surfaced into his eyes. He wobbled, and the deathly sound of ice cracking sounded again.

"Whoa!"

"Jack!"

And then he was gone. Swallowed into the cold, frozen waters beneath me.

Then I downright panicked. Panicked, cried, screamed, wailed, died...call it what you want. The world became blurry due to constant tears. But I would have rather had a blurry world. A world without Jack would not be worth living in, letting alone looking at.

It felt like a nightmare. And I wished it was. That way I could wake up terrified, but then feel the strong, warm arms around me. Then look up at Jack smiling at me, and look deep into the eyes he probably stole from an angel, and feel the love he was sending me...and my fear would curl up inside me and crumble to pieces. How much I wished I could've woken up to Jack and feel safe. And feel at home.

But it was no nightmare. And if it was, I never woke up.

My world was crumbling. The world where there was no hate, no jealousy, no misery, no fear, no pain, no darkness, no nothing. It was a world where it didn't matter where I was. It was a world that only held me and Jack. Especially Jack.

I watched that world crumble and burn, helpless to do anything about it; I couldn't move, I couldn't cry, I couldn't scream, I couldn't get on my knees and beg for mercy. And I hadn't the will to try.

Behind my world -Jack's world- was another one. But that world was so different, so strange, it hurt me to my core. It was a world where fate was cruel, and life was a beautiful lie, and death a painful truth. Where everyone was miserable, where hate was nothing but pure reality, where fear would surround you, taunt you, and then crush you like a bug.

But the worst thing about that world was...

there was no Jack.

* * *

Amber: (Sixteen years)

Nothing. That's what they found, so that's what Jack became. A nothing. An invisible being of lost memories. A forgotten hero._ My_ hero.

"Jack...is...really- he's- he's really _gone_?" I stated the obvious. I could not, for the life of me, say the word 'dead' out loud. So much as think of it, and I would shudder. Shudder because I could clearly imagine dying beneath that ice...freezing, terrified, darkness all around, lungs burning...the world disappearing from view...

I could imagine that far, far too clearly. What hurt most is that it was reality. I left my Jack to drown in that darkness. And when he needed me most, he was alone.

And he died. _My Jack died._

And when I realized that...I just couldn't accept it. And I couldn't forget it. I didn't eat, drink, or sleep for three days, until they forced it into me. And then I thrashed and fought against them. But eventually, I stopped, stayed alive, and kept fighting life and fate head on, even though they broke me and my perfect life. They took my Jack. But even though I was losing, I had to keep fighting. I couldn't just die out of despair. I _had_ to keep fighting.

Why?

Because Jack died for me. He would want me to be happy, to live. And I couldn't just ignore that. I would always do what Jack wanted me to.

My parents mourned for two months with me. But eventually, they sucked it up and moved on, as I should have. But I couldn't.

So every year we went to the lake. But, small bit by bit, they forgot entirely of Jack.

The first year we went to the lake for the (I refuse to call it 'celebration' as some have. I mean, really?)...ceremony, everyone came from the village, and everyone cried. The second, everyone came, but the only one who mourned was pathetic little me. The third, only me and my extended family came, and still, I was still the only one crying. The fourth...I was by myself. Little ol' me, a crying pile of dead dreams.

The rest, I was still alone, alone and in tears. Alone, because my Jack was taken from me, and in tears because of the former. To make matters worse, and to burn my already scarred world, my father died of a heart attack. My mother soon followed.

Then I had no one. I didn't need anyone to follow behind me, or someone to walk in front of me, but someone to walk beside me. The three most important people in my life.

Gone.

It was the seventh year. It was easier to hold back the tears, but someone that year broke me. And it had nothing to do with sadness. I felt anger. On the seventh year, on Jack's birthday, they forgot him. They didn't even remember that that day was his.

"It is? His birthday, already?" My 'friends' (more likely the people who sat around and pretended to be) repeated in shock. There was no sadness at the mention of his name. It was as if I had mentioned a myth to them. Something they didn't believe in, something they could easily forget.

_Everyone has forgotten._

"Yes, it is!" I screamed back, whirled around, and ran.

And I hadn't the slightest clue where I was going.

Soon, I was at the outskirts of the village. Everyone I saw I didn't recognize, to my greatest joy. _I hate everyone._ I punched a flimsy tree, sending pain to my hands. I grinned, able to get some of the pain somewhere other than curling inside of me.

_They don't care. They're monsters. They're evil. Pure evil._

_They don't care that Jack saved my life. They don't care that he died, or that he loved me. They don't care that he kept the nightmares away, that he kept me safe. That he protected me. Or that I loved him. They wouldn't have cared if he just dropped dead. They don't care for him._

_They don't care that I had a family. A mother, a father and a brother. They don't care that the world I'm living in is hell._

_They._

_Don't._

_Care!_

I punched the tree with my already bleeding hand. The tree wobbled. In a rage, I threw my torch at it, wishing the world would go up in flames before me.

Let's just say…

My wish was granted.

The tree caught fire, and soon fell on top of a village house. The owner of the house screamed, turned around, and ran. Soon there was chaos in the small village.

_Soon the whole village will be on fire. Ha! They deserve it. They deserve to be burned alive, to watch everything they've built be destroyed by flames, and then the fire of my hate will come after them. And then they'll burn, and I'll get to listen to their cries of terror, their screams of pain._

I looked towards a boy about Jack's age. He was panicking, and there was chaos all around us. Time froze at that moment. Fear was slowly engulfing him, surrounding him, _killing_ him.

_What am I saying? I may be mad but that's no excuse to let them die. What's wrong with you, Amber?!_

"Guys, run! Get to the lake!" I screamed. "Get the buckets and get some water! Get the kids out of the woods!"

Several women grabbed their kids and ran towards the lake, as the forest surrounded the village, and the lake was one of the only few clearings, and all the clearings were in that general direction. Soon all the men were scrambling for the buckets, but most of which were inside the burning houses. Apparently, they were dumb enough to try and go in to the get the buckets. I watched in horror as a house collapsed on an entire family who weren't quick enough.

The fire was everywhere around me, and everyone around me was dying. The air smelled of ash and smoke. The air itself was nothing but heat, and there was nothing but death around me. Every part of me was burning, but it wasn't due to the fire. It was the beginning of the end.

_Everyone's screaming. Everyone's burning. Everyone's dying._

_And it's all._

_My._

_Fault_!

The most obvious thing ever hit me like a whip on the back. My legs grew useless, and I fell to the ground in tears, like the baby I was.

_I did this._

"Help me!" A boy, age seemingly of six or seven, screamed from inside a house. He was under a collapsed house, just barely small enough not to be touched. His family was nowhere in sight. "Somebody, anybody, please!"

I forced myself up, my weak knees giving out multiple times. I ran to the wooden house, where the boy was crying underneath.

"It's okay, you're gonna be fine, I'm gonna get you out." I said, trying to convince myself my words were true.

I tried to lift some of the wood, but I could tell just by looking at it that it was far too heavy. It was an entire wall of a house.

_It's too big! Shit. Shit. Not again. I'm not going to be a pathetic helpless little girl who can only sit there and do nothing! I have to save him. I'm going to._

My attempts at reassuring myself failed gravely. I looked around wildly.

_I need something to...to..._

My eyes locked on two twin axes twenty feet away.

"Hold on, I'm going to go get something to get you out." I said in a soothing voice. He nodded, but those blue eyes didn't look reassured.

I rushed as fast as my legs could carry me to the two twin axes, (and ignored the fact that it glowed orange the moment I touched it) and rushed back to the boy.

"Stand back, I'm gonna make a hole for you to get out of." I said. I took notice of how close the fire was.

"O-Okay." The boy's voice was hoarse.

SMASH

The first hit didn't even scratch it.

SMASH

Hitting it harder didn't seem to work, either.

One more…

SMASH

I hit it so hard I fell over, but I looked at the wall and saw nothing. Panic rushed over me.

_He can't die. I can't let him. I have to get him out, I have to save him. I have to do something!_

_What do I do?_

The darkness surrounded me, and slowly began to envelope me in fear.

_Think, Amber,** think.**_

_What can you do?_

A tiny voice whispered back at me;

_"Nothing."_

_Nothing. I can sit around and do nothing. Be helpless, be hopeless, be weak, be afraid. The easiest thing I'm able to do. To be pathetic._

_No._

_"What?"_

_No._

_No, **no**!_

The two axes were on fire, right on the blade. It touched my hand, but it didn't burn. It actually made me feel stronger.

In a last attempt, I hit the axes to the wood.

KABOOM

The wall was crushed in half.

_Did I just do that?_

"Come on! Hurry!" I grabbed him, yanking him out of the mess. Everyone was gone. There were no screaming villagers. They had either left, or they were gone. _Dead. Because of me._

"This way!" I turned towards the direction of the lake.

The fire was flaring up at every side and corner, all except towards the east, the direction of the lake itself, which it hadn't got to yet. The little boy was fast for his age. I had thought that I would need to trot to have him keep up with me, but it was quite the opposite.

The survivors were by the lake, and it was about thirty feet away.

"My baby!" A mother turned when he saw the boy beside me.

"Mom!" He screamed, tears running down his face. They ran towards each other, but, oh, fate had to intervene, as a flaming tree crashed down between them. I instantly raised the axes to try to back the small tree, but all it did was make the flames flare up. (Again, I ignored how on earth an axe could do that, because I was sure at the time it didn't matter and I didn't care.)

The woman fell to her knees, tears falling from her blue eyes. "Caden." She whispered.

"M-Mom." Caden choked on his tears. "What are we going to do?"

She reached out from the small gap under the tree and found her son's hand. "I-I don't know."

_They're both going to die. They're never going to see each other smile again. Never hold each other again. Never laugh again. Never._

_Another family destroyed._

_Congratulations, Amber. I hope you're satisfied._

"Rachel, we have to go." An elderly man came up, seemingly her brother. "Come on. It's too late for them."

Rachel stiffened in her place. "No."

"Yes. Come on." He moved toward her, his arms extended, ready to grab her.

"No!" She moved away from him. He grabbed her and held her, regardless of her hitting and kicking him constantly. "No, no! **No**!" Her voice was hoarse and as loud as she could make it go.

"Mommy!" Caden nearly walked directly into the fire, until I stopped him. "M-Mom!" He coughed, the smoke in the air getting to him.

He tried to continue screaming, but his voice quieted down to a whisper. He looked at me, and it seemed another thousand tears fell. "What did uncle mean? 'It's too late for them'?!"

I tried to answer him, but my voice failed me, so I ended up hugging him.

"It's okay. You're gonna be fine." I whispered, annoyed that my voice would not go louder. Also annoyed at myself for lying to him. "Everything's okay."

_He's gonna die. He's gonna burn. (Never mind the fact that I am too. I deserve it entirely.)_

_What can you do, Amber?_

Caden coughed again, and I held him closer. "Sh. It's okay."

_I'm a murderer. A freaking murderer. How many people have I killed?_

_My brother…he died saving me._

_That family of five…their house collapsed on them._

_The other two men who risked their lives to save someone else…_

_Caden._

_I've killed four families. I've killed nine people._

_I killed my brother! My own brother, let alone complete strangers. I killed my brother. My comforter. My friend. My ally. The one who wished my worries away. The one who helped me laugh away my fear. The one who kept the darkness at bay, and promised not to let it swallow me and cage me up forever, as it did to him._

_He took my blow. He let me lean on him when he was weak. He fell through that ice for me._

_And what did I ever do for him in return?_

_I killed him._

Caden whimpered, and I tried to find my voice to comfort him, but I choked on the tears I didn't know where falling from me.

Then there was the darkness. The darkness that hovered above me, watching, waiting. Knowing I couldn't resist it. Knowing I was too weak.

Waiting for me to let go. To give up. To give in.

And the temptation to do so was growing. To just- to just die. To get what I rightfully deserved.

Heck, I didn't deserve to _just_ die. I deserved to be burned alive, to have a sword sent straight through my skull- for my stupidity and idiocy. And then have my hands cut off, for the damage they had done to so many. And an arrow shot through my heart, because apparently, I don't have one.

_What are you saying, Amber? You don't deserve to die. Nothing that merciful. You deserve to live for all of eternity in your pain and guilt._

The darkness hovered above me. '_You can. I can make you an immortal. And you can live forever in all the pain. Then I will save the boy with painless sleep.' _The darkness whispered.

"W-what's that voice?"

I looked to Caden. His face was red and puffy due to his constant tears. He coughed occasionally, which meant he probably felt the same burning I felt in my chest, and his breaths were shaky and weak. And in his eyes was nothing but fear. The flames weren't killing him, the smoke wasn't killing him. It was the fear.

It wasn't really a hard choice. Sure, I would have gladly died right around then, but Caden looked like he was hardly six. I couldn't just let us die. I couldn't just let him burn. For the one time I had a chance to save someone, I took it. I had to.

_I have to._

"Y-Yes." I stuttered to the darkness (whatever the hell it was). "Please."

Caden's shoulders suddenly relaxed. His grip on me loosened, and only then did I realize that his nails, which were unusually long, were so deep in my arms he was drawing blood. He yawned, and in his eyes was nothing but sleepiness. The fear was gone.

"W-Why-? Why am I so…tired…?" Caden nearly collapsed on me, confusion in his eyes.

"Shh. It's okay. Just go to sleep." I whispered to him. "You'll wake up in a happier place. You'll be fine. I promise."

Caden looked entirely reassured. All his doubts disappeared, and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. It was the last breath he ever took, however. It looked like he was asleep, but I knew he was really gone.

I stared at the darkness above me. _Now Caden doesn't have to burn. Now he won't have to feel my pain._ I waited for the flames to engulf me-

But then I realized…_It can't hurt me. I can't die now._

For the flames reached me, and all it did was make me feel stronger.

_Right. I'm immortal. I can't die…_

_But Caden is safe._

I looked up at the darkness. "Thank you."

It thickened before disappearing.

* * *

Amber:

I was uncontrollable. Jack would not leave my mind, and I wouldn't let him. He was my hero. He died for me. I couldn't just forget that and move on. He was going to stay in my mind, and I was going to love him, believe in him, and remember him forever.

But my anger, and my axes, had given me the power to control heat and fire. And that darkness -whatever it was- had given me immortality, so I could forever wallow in my pain.

It hurt. Everything hurt. I wanted to die. I wanted to go wherever Jack was. But I couldn't. And fires appeared everywhere across the world, mostly in the United States, as they called it, due to me being there most of the time. But I wanted to leave, so, so bad.

_Jack staring at me with love in his brown eyes._

New York's winter time suddenly felt like late spring turning into summer.

_Jack smiling down at me like I was his whole world._

Kansas had a huge earthquake.

_Jack scaring away my fear._

Texas a scorching bonfire.

_My brother. My hero. My fighter. My idol._

**_Jack._**

A forest in California was destroyed by flames.

I was seemingly invisible to everyone, and often people walked through me, like I was a ghost. Not like I really cared, I had been quite used to being ignored.

_Amber Spark. The annoying, lonely outcast ghost who sets fires to everything._

_Sounds legit._

* * *

Amber:

I became a stowaway. I was in some ship, which it was I didn't really care. I sat there, rocking back and forth with my knees to my chest, nursing my anger, hoping it didn't explode the whole ship in a burst of fire.

_Keep it together. Just until you reach somewhere...far. It doesn't matter where._

It was hard to sit there and not scream, not punch something, not burn something. Mostly because the ship ride itself wasn't helping. It rained day and night, it was freezing, and the ship would randomly lurch to the left and right. It was cold, it was lonely, and it gave me plenty of time to think of why I was running away from nothing. Of why I was terrified for no reason. Of why I hated myself. Of why I was _me_.

Who knows how many months, maybe it was years, later, I made it to a group of islands they called the Philippines. I walked out of the cold ship and stared at it.

Islands. Ocean. Sand. Rocks. Trees. A city or two. Volcanoes. Hot weather. Far away from mostly everyone else.

_Perfect._

_Just perfect._

* * *

"Bunny, Jack, we got a problem." Tooth pointed to the globe. "The lights are going out. North said he saw a shadow that looked like a nightmare." She sighed. "And, according to his belly, it would be best to follow it. So he did. And Sandman went with him." She rolled her eyes. "But there's also a ship that looked like it had nightmares on it, headed across the pacific ocean. You guys need to follow it, but remain unseen."

"So, long story short, you want us to spy on a nightmare ship that could possibly be trying to make kids scared, while you stay here and do your thing." Jack said.

"Yeah, that basically sums it up." Tooth said.

"Hold on to yer hides, I thought that nightmares couldn't go anywhere without Pitch." Bunny said.

"They can't..." Tooth replied. "So it's very probable Pitch is out there, too. Now, get out of here, and _try_ not to fight. I want you both back in one piece."

"Don't worry, I won't let the baby kangaroo get a boo boo." Jack grinned, walking with Bunny towards North's shelf of snowglobes. Jack grabbed one and twirled it twice. "To the pacific ocean."

"Nice try, you bloody snowman-" Bunny said, just before Jack grabbed him and they both jumped through the portal.

***  
"Crikey!" Bunny squealed, noticing how they were falling directly _into_ the pacific ocean. "Where's the boat?!"

"Boat? What boat?" Jack laughed, pointing his staff directly below him.

"Ahhh!"

Jack's staff touched the water just before he did, freezing it before they landed.

"Oof!_ Ow_. I think-" Bunny got up and cracked his back, "-that I would rather hit the water."

"Bunny, look at this!" Jack exclaimed, ignoring his statement. Bunny groaned and turned around. A black ship was sailing two hundred feet ahead of them.

The ship looked so old and abandoned, and the sail was so wrecked, it was a mystery how it stayed afloat or moved forward at all.

"Well, mate, it looks like Pitch's kind of ship." Bunny said. "How are we gonna-?"

Jack twirled his staff around. "Get over there? With ice."

Bunny groaned as he trotted after Jack, who ran along the water, his bare feet freezing the water below him.

"Come on, Bunny, hurry up! And you say you're so fast!" Jack laughed.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'!" Bunny said, going a little faster, not totally liking the cracking sound the ice made when he stepped on it.

* * *

Blake hissed under his breath, glaring with silver eyes out at the pacific ocean. "This is a waste of time."

"Oh, shut up, Blake." Monica flipped her long black hair, which had navy blue streaks. "We have a good lead, this time. I mean, we're looking for heat. What better place to go to than the Philippines?"

"Africa. Or Hawaii." Invidia commented. "I've always wanted to go to Hawaii." They called Jealousy (in other words Invidia) the 'green eyed monster' for a reason. She did indeed have green eyes, so bright they were almost neon green, and bright green streaks in her short, black hair. And her long, claw-like nails were also painted the same color.

"Or Hell." Donovan muttered, blowing a bang of maroon highlights out of his eyes.

"No one asked for your input, Donovan. So shut up and stop being so down in the dumps." Monica scolded, while Donovan glared with red eyes.

"_'Stop being so down in the dumps.'_ Says Monica, Queen of Misery." Blake chuckled. "The irony."

"Guys, we got a tail." Donovan said. The quadruplets turned around, staring towards Jack running quickly along the water, making ice as he went, while Bunny trotted behind.

"Aw, I wish I could do that! Don't you?" Invidia declared, staring at Jack.

"Invidia, now's not the time." Monica said apathetically.

"I know, but still! That looks so cool." Invidia said, but her voice was drained out.

"Donovan, why don't you contact Dad?" Blake turned to him.

"Already on it." Donovan replied.

* * *

(In Pitch's lair, more than thousands of nightmares surround him)

**_You're so scared, you fool. You'll die here._**

**_You'll never be believed in. You're a failure. You'll be invisible forever._**

**_You'll be alone for yet more centuries until you can't stand it._**

**_Don't you want to die instead?_**

The nightmares continued to taunt Pitch, but he wasn't totally worried about them. What he _was_ worried about was that Pitch was dizzy, he had a menacing headache, his arms, shoulders, and legs ached, and he could have sworn he had a voice in his head. (Other than the nightmares)

_Dad?_

It leaked through his mind.

_Hello? You there?_

_'No, I can't be going insane, I can't be dying. Not yet.'_ Pitch winced.

_Dad!_

Time froze short, and Pitch saw Donovan in front of him.

Pitch sighed with relief. "Oh, thank the demons. Thought I was going insane for a moment."

"Let's hope not." Donovan chuckled. "Are you holding out well?"

"Not really. It's either you have a twin brother or I'm seeing double." Pitch sighed.

"Well, you say that this Amber girl has the key we need?" Donovan asked.

"I believe so." Pitch replied. "How close are you to the islands?"

"We're about two hours away. And then we have to find her, of course, which will take a while...and then get the key... so it will be about a day more. Can you hang on till then?" Donovan asked, and a small amount of worry reached his dark red eyes, which he tried to hide. He was the master of pain for a reason. He grew stronger when someone was in pain. And, at that moment, he felt like he could crush the world, and he was standing right next to his rather weak-looking father.

Pitch hesitated. "I...I guess we'll find out, huh?" He let out a fake, nervous chuckle.

"Oh, I almost forgot, there's this over-sized bunny with boomerangs and a kid with white hair chasing us." Donovan stated, trying to get off the subject of his father's death.

"Good description." Pitch chuckled. "Sounds like the Easter Bunny and Jack Frost to me. The foolish Guardians. Separate so they have to split up, and then make them miserable, lost, and just barely alive."

"Alright. See you later, Dad." Donovan disappeared. "Hang in there."

Time continued going on, and the annoying nightmares continued their taunting and torture.

* * *

"So? What do we do, Donovan?" Invidia asked when he came back.

"We separate them, and then weaken them, leaving them in the dust." Donovan grinned. "Blake, Monica, you two go to the east, and Invidia and I will go west. They'll be forced to separate, and when they're confused, we'll meet up at the Philippines."

"Sounds...evil!" Invidia laughed. "Let's do it!"

* * *

"Bunny, look! Two nightmares!" Jack exclaimed.

"I'll get 'em." Bunny chuckled.

"You sure?" Jack asked.

"Anythin' to get off this ice!" Bunny grinned. He jumped off the frost path, made a huge leap, and just barely landed on the land, where he could still see the nightmares galloping.

"Now time to go see who's on this ship." Jack raced forward.

* * *

"Ugh. This rabbit is- faster than he- looks." Monica gasped for air, turning from a nightmare to a shadow and then back to herself.

"Oh- quit your complaining- and keep running." Blake rolled his eyes, huffing as well. He blew his short black hair with silver highlights out of his eyes. "Although- you do have a point."

Monica turned back to a shadow and back to the nightmare again, and followed her brother.

* * *

Jack:

I ran to the boat and jumped up, with the help of the wind. I held my staff at the ready, but there was no one on the ship.

_Where'd everybody go?_

I growled in annoyance, then noticed two nightmares running in the opposite direction the ones Bunny followed did.

_What the...? There's no way that just coincidence._

* * *

"I love it when people are stupid." Donovan laughed when he saw the Jack following them. "Come on, Invidia, let's go."

They rushed off, but they didn't seem to know Jack Frost very well. Jack could easily outsmart his enemies, as well as out-trick them. And he did so gleefully.

"Hey, where'd the ice guy go?" Invidia turned around.

"Wasn't he following us?" Donovan whirled around. "Okay, that's weird."

"Whoa, Donovan-! Did you see that?" Invidia gaped.

"See what?" Donovan asked, turning around.

"I could have sworn...I thought...I saw a nightmare!" Invidia lowered her eyebrows in confusion.

"That can't be possible...do you think...? It might be Blake or Monica?" Donovan looked confused.

"There it is again!" Invidia pointed. Sure enough, standing there was a nightmare. But then it disappeared.

"Maybe...it was a trick of the light?" Donovan guessed, suspense in his eyes.

"Or it was Monica or Blake playing a joke. If they are, man they're gonna get it!" Invidia hissed.

"No kidding..." Donovan frowned. "Well, I guess it means that they lost that stupid bunny guy, so we can meet at the Philippines now."

"Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

Jack sighed with relief. It was harder than he thought to make a horse-sized ice/sand sculpture. And they couldn't even tell it was blue because it was hidden in the shadows. He relaxed his stance and his staff, and the horse whinnied then disappeared.

He couldn't say he hadn't enjoyed confusing the goth-looking teenagers, and he grinned as he followed them.

* * *

Donovan:

_What the heck is a nightmare doing out? It can't go out of Dad's lair without him commanding it... can it? Not without a master to tell them to..._

_It must've been the others. They're probably peeling with laughter right now._

"Donovan, look!" Invidia said. I expected to see another nightmare, but what I saw was Blake and Monica. Invidia instantly rushed at them, ready for an attack. Monica gave her a weird look, while Blake chuckled and stopped her raised fist with his own.

"Invidia, stop being so immature." I rolled my eyes.

"What's up with her?" Monica asked.

"Saw a nightmare, though it was you guys trying to pull some joke on us." I replied, with an unneeded hint of suspicion.

"Oh, I wish! That would've been funny!" Monica laughed. "Did you lose him?"

"I guess. It was a little too easy though. You guys?" Invidia replied.

"Tied that bunny up, took his weapons, and left him screaming insults." Blake chuckled. "So, to the Philippines?"

"To the Philippines!" Invidia said.

* * *

"Get back here, you bloody witchcrafters! I'll cut your heads off and then tie them to my wall along with your-" Bunny screamed, wiggling in an attempt to get out of his ropes.

Jack appeared before him, interrupting Bunny's girly cries.

"Jack! How'd you find me?"

"Are you kidding? People across the ocean could hear you!" Jack laughed. "Come on, I know where that little goth group went."

* * *

"Ah, yes, the Philippines. Hot place during the summer." Blake commented. "Where would you find a fire girl around here...?"

"A volcano?" Monica shrugged.

"It's a start. And we could see everything from up there. Let's go." Donovan replied, and they took off.

Jack and Bunny appeared from behind a tree.

"Did you hear them? They're looking for some fire girl." Jack said.

"Ah, I'm sure you'll just _love_ that, mate." Bunny chuckled.

"Oh, knock it off." Jack rolled his eyes, using the wind to jump from tree to tree. "I just wanna know why they're looking for her..."

"I just wanna know who _they_ are." Bunny said.

"You and me both." Jack replied, and then noticed Bunny's slow pace behind him. "Come on, speed it up! I could be up at that volcano before you could blink."

"We'll see about that, won't we?" Bunny quickened his pace, as did Jack, until they were both rushing at full speed.

They made it to the bottom of the volcano, both huffing with a smile plastered on their face. They kept on running, seeing dried lava here and there. Bunny regained his strength, but Jack gasped and slowed his steps until he had to stop entirely.

"You okay, mate? You don't look so good." Bunny remarked.

"Yeah. F-Fine." Jack silently cursed himself when he stuttered, sweat running down his face, and, to scare Bunny even more, the droplets weren't freezing.

"The heat gettin' to you?" Bunny asked.

"A little." Jack replied, leaning on his staff.

"A lot." Bunny corrected, noting Jack's shaking legs and the panic in his eyes. "We'd better hurry so we can get you back to the pole."

* * *

"There she is! The one who can get the key!" Monica pointed at the strange girl, who was just inches from the volcano. She twisted some kind of double-sided twin fire axes around, and lava slowly followed. She grinned, a small image of the lava reflecting in her amber/orange eyes. She was wearing worn jean-style shorts and an amber tank top that matched her eyes. Both had ash and burnt marks on it here and there. And she was barefoot, which the others could not imagine, as just sitting there made them gasp at the heat and would rather be in the center of a blizzard.

"Whoa, she can control lava! She can definitely go to the core!" Invidia gaped.

"We're gonna save Dad!" Monica grinned, unable to hold in her excitement. Due to keeping her happy screaming and laughing at bay, her shoulders were shaking.

"Shh, both of you!" Donovan hissed in a whisper, and then he looked back towards the fire girl. But she was gone.

"Where'd she go?"

"Boo." A hiss answered behind them. The fire girl pushed the goth-looking teens into the volcano. They screamed as the lava came into view directly under them. Then a hot wind then blew them across the volcano to the other side. They huffed, horrified.

"And _that_ is why you don't play with fire." The fire girl grinned, voicing her favorite catchphrase. "I'm Amber Spark. Who're you weirdos?"

"Hold on- a sec-" Donovan huffed, regaining his strength again. "I'm Donovan, this is Monica, Blake, and Invidia." He gestured toward each one.

"Cool. But when I said 'weirdos' I meant all of you. Including the dude with the hoodie and the guy with the boomerangs." Amber said, looking out at the tree to her right out of the corner of her eye.

"Aw crap." Jack muttered, both of them coming out from behind the tree.

"Oh, wait, I know you. Aren't you the Easter Bunny?" Amber asked, looked towards Bunny.

"The one and only." Bunny replied in a hiss, making it sound the same way he would say 'I'm gonna kill you.'

"And you are?" The fire girl looked to Jack, a strange expression of recognition in her eyes.

"Jack." He replied, not caring to hide the annoyance in his voice. _Why does she even care who they are? _He didn't even know who she was and he already had a growing disliking for her. But something was vaguely familiar about her... "Jack Frost."

Amber winced at the name.

* * *

Amber:

_What...the...heck?!_

_Why?! Why does he have to look so much like my Jack?! (Sure, hair and eyes are different, but...) Why does he have to have the same. Freaking. Name?!_

_I mean, I'm sure there are thousands, probably a hundred thousand, of Jacks' out there, but really? On the one day I wanted to avoid thinking about him? Same hair style. Same age. Same name. And...oh my god. Why the staff?! The one thing Jack saved me with..._

_Damn it. _I blinked away the burning in my eyes._ No crying. Not today._

Of course, there was no way it was him. But that was the worst part, really. The harsh fact I'd never see Jack again.

_Thanks for the reminder, jerk face._

"Sweet." I forced out, and then continued on with the 'I'm so tough' act. (Which, I just have to say, is not a total lie.) "So, let's see, goth dude, goth dude, goth girl, goth girl, oversized bunny, and snowman. Yeah, this is gonna be fun."

* * *

A few insults were thrown around, most coming from the fire girl or Bunny. Soon lava, ice, exploding eggs, boomerangs, and black sand was flying everywhere. Monica and Invidia attacked Bunny, while Donovan and Blake threw their darkness at Amber, even though it was quickly fended off with a combination of lava and fire.

Soon, Bunny ran out of eggs, so he stuck to using his boomerangs. The dark kids and Amber were fighting, trying to find each other's weakness. And Bunny, closely watching and analyzing, attack and fought in the middle with expertise. However, the Guardian of Fun was exhausted.

Jack, desperately needing to rest, used the cool winds (which were always limited and weak in hot weather) to fly up to a tree, where he huffed as he watched the chaos. Amber was sitting there, her hands on her hips, a smile on her face. Jack looked in the direction she was and found all four of the goth group fighting Bunny. Bunny was fighting them all head-on, boldly, but guts wasn't always enough to win a fight.

Bunny was losing the fight to fend them off, and then Amber decided to intervene. She sent a lava/fire ball straight for Bunny.

And when Bunny saw it, it was too late.

* * *

Jack, panicking, tried with all his might to shoot his ice at the lava, but to no avail. All his power was gone.

In the end, he used the remainder of his limited strength to jump towards the fire ball, without much aid of the wind, and take the hit himself. He fell to the ground, not a breath in him. Not a spark of life. Nothing. To poor Bunny's horror, Jack honestly looked dead.

Amber grinned.

* * *

**A/N**

***Sings* CLIFFHANGER! (Yeah, I know it's not the best one, but still.)**

**SO...**

**This chapter didn't have too many details, and don't worry, the remainder of questions you have will be answered in the next chapter. (Seriously, there will be so many answers next chapter you'll most likely be overwhelmed.) Oh, and, most chapters are going to be 5,000-7,000 words long. So, let me know if they need to be shorter or longer or whatever. 'Kay?**

**Also. Amber. Jack's sister. That's her name. I don't care if everyone thinks it's Emma, or Pippa, or whatever, I don't even care if the officials say it. I'm going to be calling her Amber, so get over it. (Technically, her name IS Emma, but she strongly prefers Amber. More in the next chapter, about that.**

**Was there too much talking this chapter? I think that's what the problem was. Don't worry, got a lot of inner turmoil and thoughts and drama coming at you in future chapters! Beware!**

**Don't worry, I'm don't torturing you now. Goodbye, and see you next time.**


	2. Chapter 2: Flame

**And here's the second chapter. This one is mostly (okay, fine, entirely) about Amber, more details about her, and more about the 'goth group', as I'm going to have Jack nickname them repeatedly. Next chapter will be for Jack and the Guardians.**

* * *

Bunny, in quite a panic, grabbed Jack and jumped down his hole, leading straight towards the workshop. The goth group watched this, but then looked back and found Amber gone.

"Guys, she's over there!" Invidia pointed. "Come on!"

They all followed, not knowing they were walking into a trap. Suddenly there was lava and fire all around them, in the shape of something like a cage.

"Why are you guys following me? What do you want?" Amber asked, annoyed.

"Our dad." Donovan replied instantly.

_I'll do the talking._ Donovan was sending out a message to the others. You see, they were slightly telepathic with one another.

_Alright._

_Fine._

_Okay._

"He's locked up in his own lair, kept by his nightmares, caged by his own fear." He explained.

"Uh huh. And what does that have to do with me?" Amber asked.

"I was getting to that. The nightmares said something to him about a key at the center of the earth that we needed to get. We obviously couldn't go down there without burning to a crisp, so we've been looking for someone who can." Donovan replied, and then motioned to her. "And you appear to be the only one."

Amber looked thoughtful for a moment. "And who's your dad?"

"Pitch Black." Donovan replied.

"Ooh, I remember him." Amber grinned. "You guys are _so_ much like your dad. Weird, gothic, and annoying as heck. But wait- hold up, are you trying to tell me...that your dad...was actually able to find someone insane enough to marry him?"

Donovan tried not to look insulted, but he was annoyed in the least bit. "Um, no."

"What kind of psycho would be insane enough to...have kids...with Pitch..." Amber shook her head in disgust.

"No one, you moron." Donovan rolled his red eyes. "Let me spell it out for you. Ever since there was light, there was dark. And ever since there was dark, there was the offsprings of dark, or whatever simply_ is_ dark. Therefore, hatred, misery, jealousy, and pain. Invidia is the Empress of Jealousy, Blake's the Lord of Hatred, Monica's the Ruler of Misery, and I'm the King of Pain. It's not that complicated."

"That makes a lot more sense." Amber chuckled. "So, what'll happen to your dad if you can't get him out?"

"The nightmares are slowly killing him. We don't have very much time left...and if he dies, so do we." Donovan replied. The others winced at the reminder.

"Wow. Those nightmares are pretty smart then, good way to get rid of the whole Black family..." Amber shook her head. "Wow, that's just messed up."

"So..." Donovan shifted. "Will you help us?"

"Hmmm..." Amber stared off into space, a small grin plastered onto her lips. "Nah. I don't choose sides. Cya." She turned to go, the lava and fire disappearing from around the Black kids.

The said teenagers all looked defeated. Their father was going to die, they were going to die, and there was nothing they could do about it, other than wait in fear for the moment of their deaths to come. They turned to leave as well, but Invidia said something that stopped Amber in her tracks.

"It's not like you've had to deal with never seeing someone you love again."

It was meant to be a small, unnoticed remark, but it hit Amber like a sword to the chest, and something was burning in her eyes.

"Actually, I have." She replied. The rest of the group stopped, noting the tension in the air. Amber sighed, shaking her head. "Fine. I'll help you. But it's not like I'll have anything to gain from it." Amber rolled her eyes.

"Actually, you will. There's a fire at the center of the earth that protects the key. And you're the only one who can control it. Plus, that fire can basically disintegrate anything." Donovan replied. "You'll be unstoppable."

Amber grinned at the thought of humans trying to use their precious science to explain things burning so fast that they could hardly see the fire.

"You probably should've mentioned that earlier." Amber grinned.

"Yeah, I probably should've." Donovan rubbed the back of his neck, while the others nudged him with angry eyes.

_Oops._ His thought rang out.

_'Oops' is right. Dad could've died! **We** could've died!_ Blake shook his head when the thought reached Donovan's mind.

_Yeah. I totally screwed up there._

_Next time, I'm doing the talking. _Blake thought.

"Alright, I'm in." Amber grinned. "On one condition. Your dad owes me from the last time I saw him. Owes me as in owes me some pain."

"So, basically, you wanna save my dad so you can beat him up?" Donovan asked.

"Yep." Amber laughed.

* * *

Amber:

_They think I'm on their side! Ha! As if. All I want is that fire, and to let their stupid dad free. He tries to take over the world, and he'll have me to deal with. And I'll have that immortal fire, so he'll have a hard time._

_And I'll be so powerful, that if I got so tired of the pain, that if I get sick and mad and insane enough..._

_I'll be able to destroy myself, like I've tried multiple times to do... I'll be able to die._

"It was towards Texas, I'm sure! What else could that huge hole be there for?!" Invidia argued.

"The Groundhog, you idiot." Monica rolled her eyes.

"No, the Groundhog only comes up once a year. And I'm sure he doesn't live in Texas of all places." Invidia hissed.

"Oh for crying out loud. You two are being such big babies. Besides, it's Arizona we should be heading for." Blake rolled his eyes.

"Guys, chill out." Monica said. Pain just pinched the bridge of his nose. He seemed rather used to things like that moment, however, so I'm sure they've had worse arguments.

_Ugh. You guys need a wake up call._

Fire burst through the forest just below my volcano we were heading away from.

"Ow, ow, ow! Damn that's hot." Misery got up and blew the ashes off the burst mark on her chest.

"Thank you, Amber." Donovan said.

"You're welcome."

"What are you thanking her for?! She could've burned the whole forest! Not to mention burned _us_!" Invidia roared at him.

"Ha, I'm going to if you don't keep that loud mouth of yours shut." I hissed.

That was when she finally discovered how to shut up.

_Grrr. I just wanna burn you all! That and everything and everyone... Maybe I could use that immortal fire to burn the whole earth...? Man, that would be fun!_

"Guys, hold on, I'll ask Dad where we should go." Donovan suddenly turned into a shadow and disappeared. He came back a second later, and explained how he could basically freeze time, so he could do whatever he wanted for ten years and it would feel like a second when he finally came back.

"What did Dad say?" Blake asked.

"Well, for one, he looks a lot worse, so we'd better hurry. And second, he said there's this particular lake in Burgess that he thinks has the tunnel." Donovan replied.

_Particular lake? In Burgess? Oh god. Please tell me it's not..._

_Not Jack's lake._

"Alright then. Let's go." Invidia said. She jumped from three different trees, probably the most agile of all of them. Donovan seemed to prefer to become a shadow, and Monica turned into some kind of black sand...horse...thing. (Which, when I asked, she said was a Nightmare) And Blake also had his own style of transportation; running. He seemed to be the fastest of of all of them, with a keen eye he used to avoid getting smacked by a tree.

They turned to me, as if wondering how I was going to keep up. Invidia was the only one who voiced the question.

"I have my ways." I grinned, and put my axe securely in my belt. Then, on both my hands, fire emerged. With the help of the fire at my hands, I flew above the trees. "Hey! Who wants to race?"

"Ooh, ooh! Me, me!" Invidia giggled. She was probably the most childlike out of all of the Black kids. And Invidia, unashamed of that fact, proved so continuously. Monica, still in the form of a black sand horse, whinnied and raced on. Blake grinned to himself, and sped up.

"Oh brother. Here we go." Donovan rolled his eyes, but he also quickened his pace.

The others were rather slow, despite going as fast as they could. The only one I needed to even worry about passing me was Invidia, the little gal was faster than she looked. But then she tired out and slowed down, and I laughed, knowing that winds and fire were everlasting in my control. But then I saw Donovan, and I realized how he was able to keep up. I mean, he was a freaking shadow. And right now, he was taking the form of _my _shadow. Annoyed, I shot fire at it. And fire obviously produces light, and where there's light, there's no shadow. So Donovan had to dodge a huge fireball. I continued to shoot fire wherever he appeared, trying to ignore his laughter. It's not exactly easy to race a shadow.

When we both stopped, out of breath, still grinning, most of the forest was on fire.

"Oops." I chuckled. "Might as well add some lava, right?" I flipped out my fire axes, and tried as hard as I could to make that damn volcano erupt. The ground shook beneath us, and I tried to hide my grin when I saw the terror on the Black's faces.

_Come on, come on, don't explode, don't explode, just a small eruption. Come on..._

_Dammit, come on!_

The lava burst from the volcano, quickly spreading everywhere, a much larger flow than I would've liked.. The Blacks gasped in horror as the lava neared them, but they seriously should've known better. I used something like a fire shield around us, redirecting the lava. I tried not to laugh, but it was rather hard.

"And that..." I said, flipping my double-sided axes around and putting it back onto my belt, "is why you don't play with fire."

"Gosh, don't scare me like that!" Invidia shook her head. "That's a lot of destruction you just caused..." She looked around.

"Eh, it's not like there's very many people on these islands. If there is, they're a while away." I shrugged, and then used the warmer winds (which required me holding both fire axes) to fly up again. "Come on, slow pokes." They apparently weren't sure how to follow me without their dumb ship, so I ended up using the warm winds on them as well.

They laughed and followed, and we flew over the North Pacific ocean for who-knows how long, laughing and talking and getting to know one another. It was getting dark, and the sun slowly disappeared and the stars came out. We kept going, but the large amount of energy Invidia contained was decreasing, so it wasn't much of a surprise how she was the one to complain about stopping somewhere to sleep. We had been 'flying' for a few hours now. (I mean, I don't see why they were so exhausted._ I_ was the one holding them up with the wind.) But it was getting late, so we stopped at some islands we found and slept there. But I couldn't sleep.

Bored, I played with the campfire, shrinking and rising the flames. And although the motion kept my hands busy, it left my mind free to wander.

_What 'particular' lake in Burgess are we going to? What if it** is** Jack's lake? I'd lose control. The Blacks' will see me as a weak, pathetic girl, always crying on her knees, with nothing but a label, a shield, to hide from the world that was so strange, so foreign to her._

_They would see **me**._

Everyone was seemingly asleep but me, but then Donovan proved me wrong. He was just giving me this weird stare... It wasn't a glare, but it wasn't exactly joyful.

"W-What?" I looked at him, mad that I stuttered.

"Nothing." Donovan blinked for the first time in minutes and took a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He shot me an apologetic glance. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." I shrugged it off like I didn't care. But it was seriously creeping me out.

_Why was he staring at me...like...like** that**?_

I got a small spark from the campfire and made it circle around me with a spin of my finger. Then, trying hard not to smile, I looked at Donovan, an idea growing in my mind, tempting me.

And, unfortunately for me, I often give in to my temptations, because I know I can't fight them.

"Hey...Donovan..." I said, trying to make it sound like I was flirting with him, letting my small fire inch towards him. "What are you afraid of?"

"Me? Um..." Donovan looked thoughtful, but he eyed my fire, the light reflecting in his eyes. His red eyes. It looked like...wow. Just wow. I noticed his hesitation and the stiff set of his shoulders.

"Come on, it's not a trick question." I chuckled quietly.

"Well, I guess I could say I'm afraid of dying, but I'm immortal and also the King of Pain so I doubt that'll ever happen. Then again, the Nightmares...my dad..." He said.

"But what are you afraid of that could happen?"

"Um, losing my dad. And my sisters. And my brother. And panicking. And..." He looked at my fire again as it circled around him. "I don't know. What are you afraid of?"

"Oh brother. Where should I start? Um..."

_Don't let him turn the tables on you, Amber._

"Well, I'm afraid of lots of things...but it all sums up to..." I sighed. "Worrying. Worrying that my whole life I'll be...nothing. Nothing but destruction, anger, hate...nothing but fire."

I felt the burning in my eyes. The familiar burning of tears waiting to take over.

_No, Amber, no. You haven't cried since... how many years ago? __No. No tears, Amber._

I blinked and looked away.

_Dammit. Why, Amber? Why let him see this side of you?_

I looked at his eyes, saw sympathy, and quickly looked away.

_No. No tears today._

I looked back at Donovan.

_Time to mess with him again._

He was so focused on me that he didn't notice when I made the fire go behind my back and make it disappear far, far off the island, floating above the sea. I suddenly turned and pretended to be shocked.

"Hey! What's-?" I turned around and looked at it in fake confusion. This caused Donovan to get up, and I felt his presence behind me. I tried not to grin. I made the flame slowly come closer and closer until it was right in front of Donovan. It twirled around him, causing him to turn his head so he eyes could follow it. After it twirled around him once, it went back in front of him and disappeared. I was standing there, grinning. Only then did he seem to notice how close he was to me.

I managed to turn a huge grin into a small smile. I was so close that not even an inch more and my face would touch his.

I tried not to laugh until my stomach hurt. Tried, and nearly, _nearly_ failed.

"Um, wow." He was looking at me. "Wow."

_Where is he looking?_

_M-My eyes?_

_Wha-? Dude, you're the one with breathtaking eyes. Seriously. What's wrong with you?_

I leaned towards him slightly, not even an inch from him now. Fear surfaced his eyes, but they slowly fluttered closed. I leaned forward, so cocksure...

I don't really know what happened. Okay, I do. I stopped myself. But that doesn't mean I know _how_. I just...stopped. I laughed at Donovan silently, and then kissed him on the cheek.

He looked up, surprised. I laughed. It was rude, but I laughed out loud. Soon, pain was swirling in my stomach due to laughing too much. I looked to Donovan only once, and at first I thought I saw where I kissed him, but then I realized the pink in those cheeks were blush.

When I finally stopped, I felt pretty guilty. "Sorry." I looked at him. "That was really rude."

Donovan just chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I just felt kinda stupid."

"Well, that's why it was rude, that was the _whole point_." I grinned uncontrollably. Amusement flew to his eyes.

"Well, you succeeded then. But don't think I won't get back at you." He threatened, grinning.

"Ooh, I can't wait until you do." I laughed. I looked back towards the campfire, and found three pairs of eyes looking back at me.

"You guys were _really_ loud." Monica raised an eyebrow.

"_Ahem_." Blake coughed fakely, trying to hide his grin.

"Okay, Amber was really loud. Couldn't stop being like little Miss Laughter over here." She nodded towards Invidia, who couldn't reply because she was laughing too hard.

"So lovely to wake up to peeling laughter." Blake grinned suspiciously. "What was so funny? What'd you do to poor Donovan?"

Donovan looked at me with pleading eyes. "Oh god. Please no."

"Ooh, tell me, tell me, tell me! Please!" Invidia wouldn't let go of me. I looked back at Donovan, unable to keep the grin off my face.

"Well..." I grinned back at Invidia. "I guess I was just bored and I wanted to mess with someone. Unfortunately, my only option was poor Donovan. So...I put this tiny spark of fire in the woods without him noticing and pretended to see it and be surprised by it..."

I noted how they all had their eyes on me. Donovan's red eyes pleading, Invidia's green eyes eager, Monica's blue eyes curious, and Blake's silver eyes amused.

"So then I made the spark come up to him and go around him, and when he turned around..." I looked at Donovan again and saw him silently groan and look away, the blush growing on his cheeks. "I was like, two inches from him. Man did he looked scared."

Invidia was already grinning a smile far too large for her poor face.

"So, I leaned closer..." I glanced at Donovan, who refused to look back. "Like I was gonna kiss him..."

Invidia's grin widened. Donovan flinched.

"And then I punched him in the gut." I lied. "Gave the King of Pain a taste of his own medicine."

Donovan glanced up, and tried to pretend to still be embarrassed, but there was curiosity in his eyes.

"Oh my gosh!" Invidia turned towards her brother. "You are _never_ going to hear the end of this! I'm going to taunt you until...um...until...forever!" She laughed. Then she turned to me. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I'm going to puke!"

"Hey Invidia," I said, looking at her for a moment. She turned to me. Then I looked at Donovan. "You. Owe. Me."

I looked back at Invidia so she wasn't too suspicious, and grinned at her.

"Totally!" Invidia laughed. Everyone settled down eventually, and the exhausted Invidia and amused Monica fell asleep. I set down in my place next to Blake, who grinned to himself knowingly.

"That's not what really happened, was it?" He asked in a whisper.

"No, it wasn't." I grinned. "But hey, Invidia is satisfied. And I really should've punched him."

I looked across from me and saw Donovan looking right back at me, grinning. I laid down, more tired than I expected. I wanted to sleep, but I couldn't...some voice was telling me I just couldn't, yet. Some voice was screaming, telling me I was forgetting something, but I didn't remember what it was.

_Don't fall asleep. Don't fall asleep. Don't fall asleep._

_Don't. You. Dare. Even. Think. About it._

_Don't._

_You._

_Dare._

_Fall..._

* * *

_It was little Amber's favorite time of her life. Her mom was always working, cooking, schooling, singing. Her dad was always out in the barn and the fields. He would work all day and come in at night, and then would wake up just in time to have lunch with her and Jack- and then go out to the fields again._

_Jack would be with Amber most of the day, (probably a reason that it was a favorite time of her life), but when she was alone, Amber spent it outside. It was simply where she could be alone but still feel comforted. Everything was simply perfect._

_"Jack, I got a surprise for you!" Amber rushed up to Jack. She always loved how whatever he was doing, he stopped short. How a fire lit in his eyes when he looked at her. How he seemed to think that Amber was the most important thing to him._

_"Close your eyes!" Amber commanded. He did so, and the moment he did-_

_SPLASH_

_-he was soaking wet, due to her water bucket. He gasped in shock, and then he grinned. He had done something similar to her weeks before._

_"Hey! You took that from me!" Jack exclaimed, but he couldn't wipe the smirk off his face._

_"Yup! The trickster has been tricked. I wasn't kidding though, I really do got a surprise for you. Ta da!" Amber held out the strange looking staff, as it resembled a shepherd's cane. "I carved it."_

_He stared at it a moment, just seemingly in shock. "You can carve?"_

_"Well, as you can see, not very well...And I had to get help from Dad...but yeah." Amber replied, looking at all the edges and how it didn't seem smooth enough. "I probably should've sanded it..."_

_"That's amazing, Amber. It's amazing." He looked at it a moment. "I know!" He said, the light appearing in his eyes. "Let's improve it, together."_

_"Really Jack? That would be awesome!" Amber laughed. "Come on!"_

_Three days later, he held out the finished staff. It was much smoother, and had more of a circular design rather than a sharp-looking one we had started out with._

_"That looks awesome, Amber. We did an awesome job." He leaned closer to her. The sun was setting, and Amber was sitting on his lap in the grass._

_"You know, Jack, sometimes I wish we were both immortal, and mom, and dad...so we could all live forever and ever and ever." Amber smiled at the thought. "That would be so fun! Wouldn't it?" Amber peeked out at him out of her little imagination world where everything was perfect. Amber noted how he didn't really seem to care what she was saying, how he more likely cared about her in general._

_Jack stared at her with admiration. Her hair was brown, but in the light you could just barely make out the tints of red and orange. And her eyes...oh, those brown eyes..._

_"You look beautiful." He whispered in her ears._

_She blushed, but quickly covered it up by naming all the things she loved about him, so she would be talking for quite a while. "And you're the best big brother in the entire universe. And you're smart. And you make everyone laugh. And you tell great stories. And you're so funny. And so nice. And you help me when I'm scared. And when I wake up with a nightmare you tell me I'll be alright and I will always believe in you and-"_

_"I get it, I get it." Jack chuckled. "But you're still beautiful."_

_Giving up, Amber shut up and leaned closer to him. 'There's no way to talk sense into certain people, Jack being one of them.' She decided._

_Amber looked to the sky and sighed. The sunset was gone, as was the sun, and the sky was almost completely black. "I hate this time of day. Day turning into night, you know? It looks like the sun's dying."_

_"Does it come back tomorrow?" He asked._

_"Well, yes..."_

_"What about the next day?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"And the next day, and the next day, and the day after that?"_

_"Okay, okay! I get it!" Amber laughed. "But the darkness isn't all that fun."_

_"Are you kidding?" That's the best part! Look." Jack pointed at the sky, leaning back. "Tell me that's not amazing."_

_"What are you-" Then she saw them. The thousands and ten thousands and hundred thousands and millions and billions and trillions of stars. She had tried counting them all, once, but Amber knew she was only seeing part of the sky, and it would take a thousand lifetimes to count all the stars._

_All the stars sparkled in harmony, yet every single one was unique. It was so much to take in, and Amber was sure she could stare at it forever._

_"Oh. Wooooooow."_

_"Told ya." Jack grinned. "And that's the good thing about night. You can't see 'em during the day."_

_"Well, there are other things that are bad about night. Like...the Boogeyman." Amber said, going out on a weak limb. A darkness seemed to surround her, waiting to taunt her with fear._

_"What about him?" Jack asked._

_"What if he gives me nightmares?" The darkness seemed to tighten it's hands around her. But then Jack did the same._

_"I'll be right here when you wake up."_

_"Well...what if he scares me?" Amber whispered._

_"I'll comfort you." Jack replied, sending her a look that had nothing but love in it. The darkness removed it's hands from her, but still threatened to attack Amber, hanging above her head._

_"Mmmm...'kay." She said, not sure what else to say._

_"That's it? You're giving up?" Jack chuckled as Amber sleepily nodded. "Can't blame ya. You were trying to defend the Boogeyman of all people."_

_"I love you, Jack." Amber muttered._

_"I love you too." Jack replied. The darkness shriveled and disappeared._

_But Amber never heard him reply, as she had fallen asleep._

* * *

Amber:

"You're gonna be alright."

_You're sure?_

"Would I trick you?"

_Of course. As always._

"I promise you, you're gonna be fine."

_Am I?_

"You _have_ to believe in me."

_I do believe in you._

The ice cracked.

He wobbled.

_Terror_ filled his eyes.

And then he was _gone_.

Then he was_ dying_.

Then he was _dead_.

Then he left me. Left me to two hundred plus years of pain, hate, and misery.

Two hundred plus years of nightmares.

Two hundred plus years of living a nightmare.

Two hundred plus years alone.

Completely, utterly alone.

* * *

Amber:

"Amber, Amber! Get up!" Monica screamed.

"Huh? What-?" I stood up. Fire was all around me, and it was burning the small amount of trees and grass, and mostly the ground itself, of the islands we had camped by the previous night. "Oh!"

With a snap of my fingers, the fire disappeared.

Donovan sighed with relief, Monica shifted, Invidia tried consistently to get a small flame off her foot, and Blake just gave me a thoughtful, slightly interested look.

"Sorry. I probably should've warned you guys. I'm normally not the happiest when I'm asleep." I muttered, mad at myself.

_How did I not remember to tell them I set fire to things in the middle of the night?!_

_Ugh. Damn nightmares._

Then it came. And it grew. That temptation to watch something burn, to shrivel up and die, because I can't. The temptation that I've had since I became an immortal, a temptation I've tried hard to keep in check. And often failed.

"I'm just gonna...go find something to burn."

* * *

Amber:

"Augh!" I hit the large rock with my already bleeding hands. The pain in the stinging sensation felt lovely. It felt good just to get the pain into something other than my head or my chest for once. With something like a battle cry, I hit the boulder and fire burst from my hands to the huge rock, sending it toppling over in flames. I didn't know how I could tell, but I knew Donovan was watching me. I looked back and saw him staring at me, with his arms crossed and casually leaning back on a rock.

"What are you looking at?" I muttered. I wasn't exactly in the best mood.

"You." Donovan chuckled. "Sorry if you wanted to be alone. I'm sort of...addicted, to pain, you could say." He glanced at my hands. "Normally where someone's in pain, that's where you'll find me."

"Makes sense." I muttered.

I shook my bleeding hands a moment, wishing I could make it hurt more. The words in my head were more painful. I stared at the river beside me and put my hands in it. The stinging sensation grew to what felt like burning. Donovan shifted, and the dark red in his eyes swirled and grew brighter until it matched the color of blood on my hands.

I took my hands out and shook them off. Water and cold. Cold and dark. Both always annoyed me, probably because that's what killed my brother.

_Dammit. Wrong thoughts, wrong thoughts, Amber._

My hands burst into flames, and the cuts and marks in my hands slowly healed over. And then the fire and pain disappeared. And Donovan's eyes turned to their normal color.

I sighed, and, to break the silence, I said, "Hey, what's up with your eyes? They changed color."

Donovan grinned a little bit. "That's why I'm addicted to pain. It makes me stronger. Wouldn't you feel stronger at the Philippines than the North Pole?"

"Affirmative. But what does that have to do with your eyes changing color?"

"I don't know, really. I guess when I get stronger they change color, or something like that? Sort of like how when you're mad you have a fire in your eyes."

"Again, that makes sense." I said. There was a small awkward silence right about then. I looked at the a tree that had been sitting next to the boulder I burned and punched down. My temptation took over, and with a single kick the huge tree was knocked down.

"Ow!" A familiar voice exclaimed.

I frowned. _Invidia.  
_

"Ugh." Donovan glared at the particular cliff I had just kicked the tree down. "Really, guys?"

"Really." Invidia giggled, climbing up the cliff with ease. Monica and Blake didn't seem so agile, as she had to turn around and help them up.

"How long were you guys standing there?" I groaned.

"About the whole time. Got here, you guys were already talking, and the boulder was on fire over here." Invidia said with a chuckle. "And you didn't suspect a thing."

"And I hope that tree hurt pretty bad." I hissed.

"Ugh. The heavy, ugly thing." Invidia groaned.

"And I wish I had set it on fire like I did with that rock. Would've been fun to hear you beg for mercy when I have none."

"You just have to send the most lovely mental pictures, don't you?" Invidia remarked, somehow thinking that arguing with me was a good idea.

_Good way to get killed is what it is._

"You guys are being ridiculous." Monica shook her head.

"And I do believe that was the first time you mentioned us when you were talking to a girl." Blake grinned.

"Ah, shut up." Donovan nudged him.

"Ahhh!" Something like a scream and a cry of pain echoed off the valley. All four looked up, but only Donovan and Monica looked so much as interested.

They both turned and disappeared.

_What...the...hell?_

* * *

"Whoa, that's a lot of blood." Donovan looked shocked.

"You smell blood?" Monica raised an eyebrow at him.

"Heck yeah. It's so much it's hurting." Donovan wrinkled his nose.

"I wonder what kind of danger could be at the peaceful little Philippines? That would make you bleed, at least? I mean, mostly it's the volcanoes and lava that gets people, but that's more burning and less bleeding." Monica stared quizzically off into space.

"More of Amber's style." Donovan chuckled.

"Precisely."

They appeared at the end of the beach, where there was a group of people, seemingly her family, around a teenage girl screaming in horror at the sight of her leg. Her leg? More like a bloody mass of destroyed flesh.

"Ew." Monica muttered.

"Doesn't look so pleasant, does it?" Donovan grinned as his eyes swirled into certain red shade that resembled blood.

"You tell me you've seen some pretty ugly scenes...Have you seen worse than this?" Monica shuddered at the thought.

"Far, far worse, dear sister."

"I feel for you." Monica shook her head. Donovan just chuckled, the amusement mostly in his eyes rather than his face.

"Do you know if she'll live?"

At the question, Donovan's expression turned to it's regular dark, solemn state. "I wouldn't count on it. That girl had a very ugly battle with a Great White."

"How do you know?"

"It one of the things I always know." Donovan shrugged.

Monica chuckled. "You sound like Dad."

The girl's screams were turning slowly into a whimper. She hugged one knee to her chest, (the other wasn't exactly a knee anymore) revealing her arm to be bleeding badly as well. She whimpers soon cut off entirely- and Donovan's eyes swirled brightly for another moment before returning to it's regular look. The small group of people around the girl broke out in tears.

Something like a blue ghost slowly floated from the girl's body. Then, from a black hole, appeared some kind of man-looking figure made of shadows. Donovan didn't look surprised at all, but Monica raised an eyebrow.

"She's going to Hell? She looks so innocent."

"Ha, you'd be surprised at some of the people down there." The black man motioned towards the dark hole he came from, that resembled black flames.

Monica shrugged. To the blue ghost's surprise and dismay, the black man grabbed it and threw it directly into the dark flaming hole.

"Into Hell with you, dumb spirit." He muttered. He then turned, and waved with an evil smirk. "I gotta go. Ya know, got more spirits to torture. Cya, grand-weirdos."

"Cya, Satan." Donovan chuckled.

"And it's grand-kids!" Monica called after him. Satan just laughed and disappeared into his hole. Monica shook her head. "He's way too casual for a Spirit of Death."

"Ha. That's probably because he was in a good mood. And we're lucky he was." Donovan grinned. "Grandpa's no pal when he's mad."

* * *

Amber:

Once they disappeared, it kind of left Invidia, Blake, and me stuck in a very awkward silence.

"Where'd they run off to?" I finally asked to break it.

"Oh, wherever that scream came from." Blake shrugged. "Like he said, Donovan goes wherever pain is, and, chances are, if someone's in pain, that someone's pretty darn miserable. So Monica usually follows. And they both become as strong as heck. Simple logic."

"So you guys go after hate and jealousy." I noted.

"Yep. Which kind of sucks for me, since it's harder to find jealous people than it is to find someone in pain. But I can sort of sense jealousy. Sort of like a sixth sense." Invidia said. "And, when I find someone jealous, or Blake finds someone who hates, or something like that, the power we get slowly wears off over time. About twenty four hours. Which is kind of cool, because usually by then you find another power source."

"Yeah." I nodded. More silence.

"Hey, Amber, what's up with you setting fire all over the place?" Blake turned to me. "Sensed some really powerful hate in New York. It's November was so hot it felt like late spring turning into summer. Kansas had a huge earthquake. And Texas had a scorching bonfire. Then I go over to California to find reports of a forest fire... I just found a lot of raw hate in the flames...Is it just coincidence or is the hate I sense coming from you?"

"Guilty as charged." I said with a grin. It was a fake grin, because it slowly disappeared. "Let's just say, I get mad a lot."

"You get mad a lot. That's your excuse?" Invidia raised an eyebrow. "Come on, you can do better than that."

My grin came back. "Nope. I can't. It's the pure truth, really."

Invidia was about to reply, but then Donovan and Monica jumped into the clearing.

"Oh. Wow. I see you haven't scorched Invidia to death yet." Donovan grinned.

"_Yet_." I laughed. A hiss was heard from the distance, and Invidia got up and clawed at the air, and let out something like a hiss. "Yeah, go on, get out of here. Dumb vampires."

"Whoa, what, vampires are real?" I gaped at so much the thought.

"Uh, yeah." Jealousy said like it was totally obvious. "A lot of things you don't think is real most probably is."

"Aliens?"

"Wisely choose not to take over our planet. I mean, I can tell why, this is one messed up place, if you ask me. If it was a planet worth taking over, they would." Invidia replied.

"Slenderman?"

"Oh gosh." Donovan scowled. "Don't remind me. The jerk."

"Woooow. Um, Satan?"

"Our grandpa. Runs Hell."

"Oh. How lovely. I know where I'm going." I muttered.

* * *

"Oh, guys. I have two questions. First off, what were you guys arguing about earlier? What's so special about this lake we're going to?" Amber asked, something hidden in her eyes.

"According to Dad, it has a tunnel that leads to the center of the earth. I mean, we could just have you dig a hole to the center of the earth, but how long will that take?" Monica replied.

"Well, the earth's pretty deep...probably about a week."

"And it'll only take less than a day to get to the tunnel." Donovan replied.

"So...what exactly did the nightmares tell your dad?"

"They gave him a riddle to solve." Blake replied.

"In the center where the fire is deep, is the key I long to keep." Donovan chanted.

"Okay...how far are we from the lake?"

"If we all go as fast as we possibly can, with no stops, about three hours."

"Okay...well...what are we waiting for?" I asked. Everyone grinned and got up. Donovan turned into a shadow and grinned at me.

"Race ya." He challenged.

"Whoa, whoa, hold it." I said. "First, out of shadow form..." He did so, so I continued, "second, I got a better idea." I grabbed his hand, and then had him to the same with his other hand to Monica. Then Monica did the same to Blake. So we all stood, holding hands, and I then I used the hot winds I controlled to send us off. The land come into view and everyone gasped.

_Had they not flew before? Had they not seen the sights? Or how everything seemed miniature or how it seemed to scream 'amazing' at you? Apparently not._

Out of nowhere, Blake and Invidia panicked as the wind holding them up suddenly disappeared, and the scenery below them grew closer.

* * *

**A/N**

**Eeek. Okay, I'm sorry. Terribly sorry. Too long, in my opinion. These chapters are supposed to be 5,000 words long and whaddya know, this one and the first are both 7,000. Ooopsy.**

**So, sorry about the whole OC romance and crap. I can't believe myself. I seriously just did a whole chapter with nothing but OCs, OCs, and more OCs! Ugh. Don't worry, like I said, it's all Jack next chapter. Because I think, now that you know of Amber's power, you need a reminder of his.**

**ALSO, (yes, sorry, more torture, but this is IMPORTANT) my aunt Stacie seriously deserves credit for more than half of this story. She had ideas that totally fit for this story. So thank you, thank you, thank you!**

**Torture FINALLY over. Cya!**

**-ihearthorses6000 (I really do.)**


	3. Chapter 3: Ice

**A/N:**

**And I'm back! Ready for more torture? Just enter the cell room. (Doesn't look like a cell room, more like a room for some rich person, with leather couches and bean bags and the like, but there's jail-like iron bars and a huge screen.) Have a seat. As I promised, this one's for Jack and the Guardians. Okay, fine, about 1,000 words were written in Amber's pov, but it WAS IMPERATIVE. Sorry!**

**So. Yeah. Enjoy your time in Torture Land. *Clicks button and words of this chapter appear on the screen.***

* * *

Jack:

"Jack!" Tooth shook me for the millionth time. "Jack, can you hear me?"

"No, I've gone deaf." I replied with as much sarcasm as I could muster. One look at the red ceiling and I could tell I was at North's workshop.

"Oh thank goodness! Jack, don't you ever do that to me again!" She pulled me up in a _way_ too tight hug. So tight I couldn't breathe. (Plus I was having trouble breathing in the first place.) "I thought you were gone."

"S-Sorry." I stuttered, rubbing my temples, trying to get rid of a horrible headache. Everything ached. Every muscle as if it had been pulled, ripped, and burned. "How long have I been out?"

"A few hours. Not that long." Tooth replied, even though I was sure those few hours were eternity of hell for her.

"Okay...and, um, how the heck am I alive?"

"You think I'd just leave a perfectly good _idiot_ layin' on the ground, mate?" Bunny scoffed.

"Don't see why not." I muttered. "Assuming he was a pretty big idiot."

"He jumped in front of a fireball. He's one bloody idiot." Bunny said, grinning. He sent me a silent thank you in that moment, just by the look he sent me.

"Well, the bloody idiot is a little too warm for his taste, so he's going outside." I used my staff and got up, trying to ignore the pain that filled me instantly. With the help of the wind, I made it outside to the cool air.

I instantly felt much better. For one, I was able to stand up without my staff. And then, with a smirk, I noticed frost formed on my arms and legs. The then it began to _glow_ blue. The pain disappeared and my strength regained. Then the frost disappeared and I found myself feeling one hundred percent better. This had happened before, after I had mastered how to make it work, which was a month before that time.

"Let's go, wind!" I called out.

* * *

_**Jack! Thank goodness you're alright!**_

"Hey wind." Jack chuckled. He called her 'wind' more than he said her real name, Cindy. He knew from experience he could only hear her whispers when he was holding his staff. But he couldn't hear her when he was too weak at the Philippines. Of course, he could still feel the winds screaming in his ear, poor Cindy panicking because she didn't know how to help him.

**_Never, ever scare me like that again! I wanted to help you, but my brother, Will, was so strong..._**

"Will?"

**_He's the warmer winds. We're not exactly friends. But I think he and that fire girl have met up. Anyway, wanna go for a ride?_**

Jack grinned in response. With that, he flew into the sky, laughing the whole way. And the wind laughed with him. He flew around, occasionally throwing snowballs at unlucky polar bears, yetis, and even an elf or two, who were trying to steal each other's bells. Jack even threw a snowball at a white fox, but the cunning thing moved out of the way as quick as it could, but Jack had an amazing aim, so instead of taking one to the head, the fox took a snowball to the tail.

North and Bunny watched the unsuspecting Jack, Bunny shaking his head in annoyance and muttering things like 'hurting nature,' and 'bloody moron'. The anger welled up in poor Bunny until it came out as words.

"I can't believe _he's_ a _Guardian_." He spat.

"He is Guardian of Fun!" North chuckled. "Let him have fun!"

"Havin' fun does not make ya a Guardian." Bunny muttered.

"Jack has power enough to freeze earth! But he does not. He has power enough harm children. But he protects them." North looked at him. "You have power enough to explode planet with your eggs. But you do not. That makes you Guardian."

Bunny rolled his eyes and refused to admit the old man in front of him was right. But he was. Being a Guardian was using your gifts for the help of others rather than the opposite. And this Bunny knew well.

Jack, meanwhile, flew out of sight, deciding he needed a break for a while. Soon he was out of the North Pole, and out of the Arctic, laughing as the wind laughed with him. He loved Cindy. For one, she was a lot like him. Swift, cold, and simply awesome. And she usually sided with him, as she usually agreed with him in the first place. And she had a quite similar, mischievous spirit. But she worried for him. She cared for him. That's another thing that made him love her. The one who stood by him in his three hundred years alone was no other than the wind. Heck, she didn't just stand by him. She helped him, protected him, and comforted him. And, as Jack had voiced to her before, he knew he wouldn't have survived a day in those many years without her.

_Of course_ he could say he loved her. He had three hundred years to get to know her. When you're sure you're stuck with one person (um...well, wind isn't a person, is she?) for all of eternity, you suddenly have a best friend. Jack would need a never ending paper to write all the things he liked about Cindy. She was amazing, strong, caring, gentle, comforting...

_And she can help me fly! Cindy's so awesome._ Jack grinned. He didn't realize he had said such out loud until Cindy laughed in his ear.

**_Again with this? Look, I know what you're thinking, but flattery isn't gonna change the fact that you are, and always will be, the most amazing person I have in my life. Kapeesh?_**

Jack just chuckled in response, knowing from experience that he would lose any 'Complement Duel' he had with her, and arguing would clearly be useless.

Jack suddenly stopped short as an idea sparked to his mind, and he flew downwards. "Hey, wind, remember that time I made a frost bunny on Jamie's window?"

**_Yeah..._**

"Check this out." Jack used the edge of his staff to draw on the frosty ground, then lightly tapped the center of it, and a blue wolf jumped out of nowhere and howled before laying down next to Jack. "Wind, say hello to Blizzard." The wolf's ears perked up at his name, and, wagging his tail, he jumped on top of Jack, licking his face.

"Okay, okay! I love you too! Get off me, please!" Jack laughed.

Cindy chuckled. **_Adorable. How long have you had him?_**

"Not long. It took awhile to make it so he actually stayed for a long period of time, and didn't totally drain all my energy. I was going to show you, but then Bunny and I were sent to the Philippines." Jack replied. "Here, Blizzard." He made the wolf back into frost. There was a wolf tattoo on the inside of his right wrist. Anytime he touched it, Blizzard would appear. "Now, how about we go throw a blizzard of snowballs at Bunny?"

**_If you insist._ **Cindy laughed and carried Jack towards the workshop.

_"Purple flame,"_ a familiar voice suddenly sang in Jack's ear.

Jack stopped short.

_"frost and flame,"_

**_Jack? Jack, what's wrong?_**

_"combining elements of hate,"_

"I-I don't know." Jack stuttered back. Cindy knew that look on his face. His eyebrows furrowed, his clear blue jewels for eyes having that faraway look, with his solemn face sure. He was getting one of his memories back. This happened often, as Tooth had warned him, that after he saw just the parts of his memories that he needed to know to accept being a Guardian, the rest would slowly return to him.

_"Immortal fire,"_

Cindy carefully released him, causing him to slowly land to the ground, letting him take in the deja vu moment.

_"immortal fire."_

_"Eternal blaze, eternal blaze."_

Jack, who although wasn't sure why, felt comfort in the song in his head. So he sat down on a tree, noting how late it was. The full moon was high, but something didn't look right about it. Jack was too tired to tell for sure what it was, as the soft voice in his head continued to sing to him. Soon, his head drooped as he fell into sleep, as the wind chuckled, thinking of how quickly his snoring began. He must have been exhausted.

Cindy, who never really slept, just sat around waiting for her Jack to return to her, flew around a while before noticing exactly what was wrong with the moon. Then she flew back to Jack, trying to wake him, worried. But the winter sprite didn't move, instead winced in his sleep. This Cindy did not take as a good sign, for she knew she couldn't hurt him if she tried.

What was going on in that head of his?

* * *

Jack:

_"Goodnight Jack, goodnight Amber. Go to sleep." Mom said, exhausted from her day._

_"Mom, wait!" Amber exclaimed._

_"What is it now?"_

_"Could you sing 'Purple Flame'? Just one more time?" Amber begged._

_"Ugh. That's what you say every night." Mom rolled her eyes._

_"And I'll continue to." Amber giggled. "Please? Just the first verse?"_

_"Oh, fine." Mom began. "Purple flame, purple flame, burning in never ending power. Immortal fire, immortal fire, flickering with familiar tales. Eternal blaze, eternal blaze, sparking with untold secrets. Frost and flame, combining elements of loathing. Purple flame, purple flame... in love it burns, in hate it dies. So keep your purple flame alive."_

_I glanced at Amber, and she glanced back. This song was, by far, her favorite. I asked her, and she said she didn't have a clue why._

_"It's...I don't know. I just understand it's meaning. Everyone has a flame. A fire. It's at their core, their center. Mostly, only you and your true friends know what it is." Amber said, trying to explain to me what was going on in that complex brain of hers._

_"Everyone...has a fire?"_

_"Yeah. It's like...it's the light in your eyes when you're happy. Or the venom in your voice when you're mad. Or the sobs that come from you when you're upset. It's just...a fire. Without one, you're not...you." Amber shrugged. I grinned and just hugged her. But then she was suddenly yanked away. My feet were suddenly bare and freezing. We were on the lake._

_And the threat of cracking ice bounced it's way into my head, but I ignored it. I had just saved my sister with the very staff that she made me. And I could fall in at any moment. I could die. I could drown. I could feel that pain. But she wouldn't have to._

_She was safe._

_So when she smiled, I smiled back._

_But then, yes, that was the time that the lake decided to crack and send me under._

_"Jack!"_

_I guess I could've fought against the burning in my lungs, the cold, the darkness..._

_But it was just quiet. Of course, there was the screaming in the back of my head of all my body wanting air... but by the time I had finished asking myself if I had the will to try, I was six feet under._

_But then it was dark. And then I was above the lake, and everything was flashing quickly. Joining the Guardians, (sort of) fighting Pitch, learning about how I could get my memories back, collecting the teeth, Sandy putting them all to sleep, and then..._

_Sandy was gone. Had I ever felt so angry, so insane, so driven with hate?_

_Ha. I would've remembered that._

_It was a nightmare...where I was fighting nightmares._

_First, it was nothing but determination. But then...the fear that came over me...it was so overwhelming. I mean, it was a wall of nightmares. How on earth was I supposed to fight that? It was nothing but a wall of black sand. Darkness. Hatred. Misery. Pain. Fear. Heading right for me._

_I felt terrified. And this only seemed to make the darkness come faster, and stronger._

_It swallowed me, leaving me in nothing but darkness and chaos. And I suddenly felt cold. Cold to my core. And the nightmares seemed to sense it. But what they didn't seem to realize was..._

_cold made me stronger._

_Blue light burst out of my staff, destroying at least a thousand nightmares. Then the nightmares disappeared, and in their place was nothing but darkness. Some kind of dark figure with red eyes glared at me._

_I would've been sure it was Pitch, but I knew for a fact Pitch did not have red eyes._

_The figure was soon joined by three others- the red eyes were joined by a pair of silver eyes, a pair of neon green eyes, and a pair of navy blue eyes. All glared at me before being joined by a very familiar person, and I could see her clearly because she practically glowed. Fire sizzled at her double-sided axes._

_Amber._

* * *

Jack:

I woke with a start, finding myself on the now frozen tree I slept on. It was still dark out, and I had a horrible headache. The headache suddenly grew as a nightmare literally came out of my head. The headache then slowly decreased. The nightmare whinnied, smelled for fear, (but all that stupid thing got from me was confusion) and rode off into the night, directly towards the moon.

**_Jack!_**

_Oh my gosh! The moon!_

The said light in the sky had darkness covering almost half of it.

_What the?_

Then I noted the green, purple, and pink lights in the sky and rushed back towards Santa's workshop.

* * *

The mess Jack came to was rather expected. Tooth was half talking, half muttering about some kid with molars loose in Washington, Bunny was talking to North, wanting explanations, while North was only telling him he had no clue what was going on. Sandy turned towards Jack, a confused look on his face. He made a picture of the moon with the darkness on it and then added a question mark.

"No, I don't know what's up, either." Jack replied.

He stood next to Sandy and looked at the chaos, trying not to laugh. It was quite amusing to him.

But then he saw the pained, worried look on North's face. After all, Manny was North's good, old friend. And it also surprised him that Manny of all people was targeted by an enemy. Who would attack the moon? Surely, Pitch wanted to take over the world, not the moon. And what would a fire girl or the goth group want with a planet they can't even reach? Who would want to mess with Manny?

Tooth suddenly looked to Jack, and she fluttered towards him. "Jack, do you know about North's elves?"

"What about 'em?" Jack asked. What, were the elves targeted too? The moon and Santa Claus's elves. Random.

"Oh! Jack!" North went towards him. "You must see this." He grabbed an elf and whispered a name in it's ear. It suddenly viewed a child grinning at her tooth that she put under her pillow. North whispered another name, and another child appeared.

"Whoa! I didn't know they could do that. You can view anyone?" Jack asked.

"Yes. So we can see the ones who attacked you. Jack, what are their names?" North asked.

"Oh...um...Bunny...what was that girl's name?" Jack stared off into space. "Amber...Sensor? Sizzle?"

"Sprinkle? Sparkle...?" Bunny guessed.

"Oh, it was Amber Spark." Jack turned to North. North whispered Amber's name in an elf's ear.

* * *

The scene appeared before them. Amber was grinning wildly, looking down as she basically dropped Invidia and Blake. Invidia finally stopped shrieking and Blake looked up, annoyed, as Amber lifted them back up again.

"Really?" He rolled his silver eyes. "Not funny."

"Sorry. Sorry. Invidia just makes herself a target." Amber chuckled. "And you happened to be the one beside her."

"Ugh, is this as fast as your winds can go? I wanna make it to that lake in Burgess before next year." Monica groaned.

"Oh, calm down, Monica." Amber grinned. "You do not wanna see how fast these winds can go."

"Yes I do!"

"I'm gonna make you eat your words." Amber chuckled. She suddenly flew forward at the speed of a racing car, leaving the others in the dust. Amber then did the same to the others.

The scene disappeared.

* * *

"A lake in Burgess?" Jack was the first to speak. _Could it be...?_ "Guys, I think I know where they're headed."

"Of course!" North nodded in agreement. He grabbed a snow globe. "To Burgess, frozen lake!" He threw it on the ground, creating the multicolored portal.

* * *

"What the? This place used to be happy and full of people, last I visited it. Which was over four hundred years ago, but still." Invidia stared around at the gore around her. "What happened to this place?"

Donovan wrinkled his nose when he smelled the dried, rotted blood and decay of death around him. Piles of ashes and burnt wood stood where houses should be. Skeletons lay here and there.

Amber stared at the destruction and sighed, tears coming to her eyes. "_I_ happened to this place."

Blake blinked once in shock, and then his pearl-silver eyes filled with understanding. "Well, I can see why you hate yourself." He waved his hand towards the destruction.

Amber let out a sad, fake chuckle. "Yeah."

"Guys, there's the lake!" Monica pointed towards it. Memory filled Amber's eyes as she was stricken with the sick reminder that her past was not just a nightmare.

They walked towards it, and soon they were on the edges, staring at their reflections on the ice, (Invidia admiring herself) but Amber simply refused to walk on that lake. Her constant heat would melt the ice, and she would fall in. And she refused to go on it in the first place. It was simply a vow she had made for herself so she didn't burn everything within a thousand mile radius. And coming so close to that lake was breaking that vow enough, and she wouldn't dare step foot on it.

"According to Dad, there's supposed to be like a...shield or defense wall or something here. There's an opening we can go through that leads to the core." Donovan said, looking around. The four suddenly looked as if they were stricken down by a sword; Invidia fell to her knees, Monica winced in pain, Blake took two steps back, his breathing rapid, and Donovan clutched his chest as if someone had thrown a knife in it.

"Dad's f-fading fast." Monica clenched her teeth.

"Y-Yeah." Donovan's chuckle was clearly fake. "We _really_ need to hurry." His maroon eyes swirled the lighter, brighter color of blood.

Amber, knowing that the times were desperate, but still refusing to go on the lake, flew up to look around for any sign of a shield or wall. She looked at the lake from an angle and found that it looked like a bent shield her father had once tried to fix.

Amber blinked and shook her head. It seemed like every second a different memory was returning to her, stabbing her. "Guys..." Amber floated down and looked at their wincing faces. She wore a small grin. "We have to go to the heart of the lake!"

They all looked at her, confused.

"The lake...it's like a shield. It's a defense. It's never perfect, but it looks strong regardless." Amber said.

Invidia grinned, catching on quickly. "And when you become someone's friend, you find the opening in their defenses and will always stay in their _heart_!"

Amber looked back at the center of the lake and winced. There was no opening at the center of the lake. She would have to dig through the lake and find the tunnel from underwater. And to so much as step on that lake she strongly refused. But swimming? Sure, she was immortal and could hold her breath for all eternity, but swimming in the same waters her brother died in...?

Amber sighed and headed towards the lake. The moment her feet touched it, she winced. She knew the shiver of cold all too well. As well as the cracking of ice under her. It was slowly melting, so eventually, she just floated a few inches above the lake as she looked for it's very center, and then stood above it.

The exact spot her brother fell in.

Donovan looked over at her worriedly. "Amber, you okay?" He didn't know why, but he sensed she didn't exactly like this lake.

"Yeah. Fine." Amber replied, looking at him only once, and then back down at the lake again. There was no pain in her eyes, nor a trace on her face. But Donovan just knew...

"You can't lie to someone who could feel your pain, Amber." He scoffed.

"I know. But it was worth a try." Amber gave him a small, weak smile. "Be back in a sec." She stood at the lake's center, and her heat quickly melted the ice and she fell in, wincing as she went, trying to keep herself away from her own thoughts.

_I'm going to regret this!_

* * *

Amber:

For a moment, I could only stare at the water around me. It was simply dark and cold...and quiet. Too quiet. I swam around, knowing I would have to hurry if I didn't want the cold of the icy water or the pain of the memories in my head to engulf me. And I wasn't sure which one would first.

I guess I half expected to see a skeleton under that water. (And thank goodness I didn't.) It probably rotted away years ago...

_My brother, rotting underwater in this never ending hell. Dying. For me._

I shuddered. _I don't know why he did. It wasn't worth it. Why did he fall in for me? Why did he save me? It wasn't worth it! I should've died that day. That way I'd never cause all this pain. I'd never have to spill blood, and I'd never have to roll in it for all eternity._

_Was Caden worth it? Worth me living on forever so I could ruin another thousand lives? If I could go back in time, would I change anything?_

I shook my head when I saw the tunnel. I drove towards it, saving myself from dangerous thoughts.

_You can't go back in time, and you're going to stop lingering in the past. Now is now and then was then._

The tunnel around me slowly got warmer and warmer, and the water seemed to turn to lava and magma. I can't think of a single moment, after I got my fire powers, that heat has ever made me uncomfortable. And that moment was no different.

It wasn't the heat, it was the _power_. The sheer, pure, ultimate power... I felt like I could burn anything. The whole world, the whole universe... It was so much I feared my thoughts would turn the wrong way, and I'd just...I'd just explode everything.

And it was so tempting. To just...to just watch the world burn. Like I've wanted to so many times. I mean, no one can see me, and I'm already completely alone, so what would the difference be if they all just burned?

But that would be destroying happiness. Happy families, tucking their kids into sleep, not knowing there wouldn't be another tomorrow. It would be destroying wonder, hope, fun, memories, dreams...

A tiny voice in me hissed out a question. _Do you care?_

_Yes. I do care. I don't know why, but I do._

I laughed at myself. _You've grown soft, Amber. Oh well. Looks like no world annihilation for today._

Then I made it to the center. I could only tell for two reasons. One, there was no more tunnel to go through. Second, it was so bright it took me multiple minutes to adjust to the light. And even then, I had to squint.

But the brightness wasn't all that stopped me. I had thought that, as I was heading down that tunnel, feeling like I could explode a universe, I couldn't get any stronger. I was very, very wrong.

* * *

Jack:

"Well. This is a sight." I tried not to laugh. "Bunch of goth kids looking like they've been attacked on a frozen lake."

"Oh shut up, snowman." Invidia hissed. They were clearly not in the mood. Amber suddenly shot up out of the earth, actually, to my surprise, out of the frozen lake, of all places. There was a fire in her eyes, and her hands seemed to sort of glow. It slowly faded away as the cold got to her.

She shuddered. "Never going to the center of the earth again. Not by way of that lake, anyways. Oh, and Black kids, didn't find any key."

They all looked alarmed for a moment.

"Wait, Black kids?" Tooth repeated. "You guys are...? Pitch's _kids_?"

"Whaaaaaat?" North gasped in his heavy accent.

"Everybody always freaks. Boogeyman's kids." Monica chuckled.

"It's always so fun to see their faces." Blake agreed.

"What the hell are you going doing at the center of the earth?" I asked.

"Trying to get a key to get our dad back." Invidia gave a little bit too much info too fast, to my amusement.

"At the center of the _earth_?" I repeated. "Someone really wanted to hide that key. Key to what?"

"Keep your big mouth shut, Invidia." Donovan hissed at her.

"Sorry." Invidia didn't speak much after that.

"Speaking of which..." Blake said, and everyone sent Amber an alarmed look.

"Hey, don't look at _me_." Amber held up her hands. "You guys_ do_ have a back-up plan, right?" She looked mostly at Donovan.

"Hehe, um..."

"Craaaap." Monica muttered.

"Well, we're not getting any information from these guys anytime soon." I said in a low voice, annoyed.

"True, mate." Bunny replied in the same tone.

_I have an idea. I'll go to Pitch's lair and get answers that way. You guys stay here with them._ Sandy said, making sand images above his head.

"Good idea, Sandy. Go." North ushered him on. Sandy turned around and flew towards the hole where Pitch's lair was. Although the hole had been closed up due to the Nightmares, Sandy knew that a few flicks of his dream sand would send the tunnel appearing again. He jumped in, and tried not to be spooked when the hole closed automatically behind him.

* * *

Sandy flew in to the familiar lair. He knew it all too well. The deserted, hanging cages that used to hold the thousands and thousands of tooth fairies. And how the cave seemed to expand forever in darkness, but it wasn't as big as it seemed. But what was new was that the number of Nightmares had multiplied. They were surrounding Pitch, whispering things that honestly damaged Sandy's ears. And the whole lair wreaked of blood, sweat, darkness, and death. Not a delightful place.

**_That's_ how we'd kill you! And then, after you're gone, your pathetic kids will shrivel and die as well. Did you think they'd find the key in time? Time is something you don't have much left of.**

A Nightmare rushed at Pitch, and hit him squarely in the chest with it's hooves. Pitch simply took the blow as if he was very used to such by now. He saw Sandy and gave him something that was supposed to be a rather large smirk, but it looked to be a weak, small grin.

The Nightmares around Pitch backed away, lowering their heads in both respect and fear as Sandy approached. Pitch, although he was too weak to show it, was afraid of Sandy, as always. And anyone stubborn, foolish Pitch was afraid of was worth running away from. This the Nightmares knew well.

"Ah, Sandman. How are you?" Pitch asked, not caring to hide his slowly-growing grin.

_Better than you, it seems._ Sandy replied, grinning slightly. He taunted the terrified Nightmares by letting his dream sand fly around them. The Nightmares knew that if the sand touched them they would turn into a harmless-looking unicorn, but that was not what scared them. It was the painful transformation they feared. Their center was darkness, shadows, and fear. The dreamsand would rip that out, crush it, and burn it into a dream, causing the Nightmares the most painful experience possible rather than death. (And Nightmares don't die, they disappear. So it was basically the most painful experience for them, end of story.)

"Quite. Due to some rather annoying Nightmares I know." Pitch glared at them. He was rather glad to have his quickly approaching demise be interrupted. Pitch could regain his strength, and when Sandy left he would be able to fend off the Nightmares for a longer period of time. "Anyhow, what brings you here?"

_We found four teenagers who claim to be your kids._

"Ah. Figured you'd meet up with them sooner or later." Pitch chuckled.

_They claimed to be looking for a key of some sort._

"Yes. The Nightmares claim to have a hidden key at the center of the earth that can get me out of here. Doubt it, but it was better than sitting around and doing nothing." Pitch shrugged. "Anything else?"

_That's about it..._ Sandy turned to leave, while Pitch braced himself for the attack of the Nightmares. But the Nightmares, the devious things, were angry at someone else for the moment, and all directly attacked the Guardian of Dreams.

* * *

"So... what now?" Monica looked at Donovan.

He grinned. "Isn't it obvious? We fight!"

"Finally." Amber grinned. "Donovan, you can fight that oversized rabbit. Blake and Invidia, you two can fight that old guy with the swords. Monica, you can fight the bird fairy thing. I get the snowman." Amber had been told of the Guardians the night before, but she didn't really care to call them by their names.

"What? Who put _you_ in charge?" Invidia started to complain.

Amber just stared at her with a raised eyebrow and a small grin. "You wanna mess with me?"

"Nevermind." Invidia muttered.

"That's what I thought."

Amber, grinning, suddenly got the fight started as she attacked Jack. The Blacks and the rest of the Guardians soon clashed as well.

Donovan lunged at Bunny with his black sand, but every strike was cut in half by Bunny's boomerang. Then he added one heading straight for Donovan's head. Donovan ducked, causing Bunny to throw his exploding eggs at him. Soon the action was going so fast it was hard to keep up with it, as the two had very similar attack strategies.

Blake and Invidia were similar. When you hate someone, it's often it's because you're jealous of them. (Or the other way around.) Thus, the two made a magnificent team. They attacked North with both speed and smarts. Invidia's strategy seemed to be ruthless, just attack, attack, and attack to tire out the enemy. Blake was more calculating, and he searched for a weak spot, and attacked it with a strong amount of strength. But he also watched where the unpredictable Invidia attacked, and then attacked that only weakened spot. And that strategy had worked well for the two of them.

North, with all his weak spots being attacked, and having rather annoying attacks follow, was surprisingly not too shaken. He had seen such strategy before, and he was quite a master at fighting. His strategy at fighting never stayed the same, as he had seen and fought with all of them, and this caused the two Black kids to be quite overwhelmed, mostly surprised such an old-looking man was so strong. But they didn't know the half of it.

Monica looked up at Tooth, who had her fists at the ready. Monica, deciding to be fair, raised her own hands, screwing the black sand. That was quite a mistake, because she didn't know how well Tooth was with her hands. Often, Tooth limited her fighting, due to a kind, gentle heart, but when she fought, she fought hard, and often won. She still had the hummingbird part of her, giving her excellent speed. And her hands themselves, though small, knew where to strike, as more than hundreds of years of being such a dentist and orthodontist had given her the gift of a careful, quick, skilled, and steady hand.

It was quite an even match, though, because Monica had a different strategy. It was mostly to dodge and tire out her enemy, and then attack. But dodging an attack from Tooth was hard.

The sonic boom of an explosion caused them to suddenly stop. Amber and Jack were dueling, sending fire and ice flying.

"Take that, furnace!" Jack exclaimed, sending a large blast of ice her way.

"You'll have to do better than that, ice cube!" Amber called back, shooting fire to stop his mini blizzard.

"You don't _want_ to see better, ya flamethrower!" Jack hissed, chasing her around the opening in the forest.

"Blizzard face!"

"Forest fire!"

They both twirled their weapons for a moment, and then shot large blasts of opposite elements at each other. It caused an explosion that sent them both flying. Cindy and Will caught them, and then they flung the two winds at each other, as more ice and fire followed.

The Guardians and the Blacks soon regrouped and simply watched.

"Is that the best you got, snowman?" Amber asked when they both landed soundly on the ground.

"Nope." Jack twirled his for two moments then sent an ice blast with the potential of a deadly blizzard straight toward her. Amber sent an equally large and powerful fire blast to meet it, and when the two collided, everyone in the forest was sent flying backwards. And when everyone got up, poor Amber, who was the closest to the blast, didn't get up.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Wow. I can't believe myself. I'm _so_ freaking lame. I took Cindy from ( cold + wind = cind ) and I just took ( hot + wind = wot) and turned it to Will. Wtf, I should be surprised I'm naming the wind in the first place. You can slap me now.**

**Also, another flaw in this story. Last I checked, Jack didn't fall in the center of the lake. He fell on the side with the less ice, after he pulled his sister to the thicker side. But the story just flew that way... the middle of the lake made more sense. Sorry.**

**Caution: In upcoming chapters, I _may_ make attempts at making you cry. And I'm not so good at that...so...hehe, yeah, we'll see how that goes.**

**Annnnd you're done! *Opens cell doors* Your time in Torture Land is over with! (Until next time, that is. Muhahahahahahaha!)**


	4. Chapter 4: Unsuspectingly Siblings

**Welcome back to Torture Land! Come on in, read the words on the screen, and then you're free to go! *Slams iron bars behind you and locks it* Until then... enjoy the torture!**

* * *

The first thing Amber could think of was pain everywhere, a pain that she was used to having in her head or chest. The kind of pain where you would do just about anything to make it go away. The second was the fact that the Guardians were around her. Then she became of aware of the ropes tied tightly around her arms and legs. She chuckled slightly. But then Amber saw the workshop itself. "Is this-? Santa's workshop?"

"The one and only." North replied, trying not to show how proud he was of how shocked everyone was when they first saw it. After all, he was the Guardian of Wonder, it was rather required that he amazed everyone.

"_Woooow_."

"That's exactly what I said." Jack grinned.

"You are Amber Spark, correct?" North asked, staring at her with a cold glare.

She paused, thinking of replying with some taunting remark, but decided on a different idea. "Correct."

"Who and what are you?"

"I'm Amber. Sarcastic, annoying, erratic, fabulous, fiery, powerful, dangerous, sometimes awkward, and _slightly_ insane. And obviously an immortal."

"Whaaaat? Man in Moon resurrected you after you died?"

Amber suddenly cracked up. "You think the moon resurrects dead people? Seriously? 'Rise, dead person, and be my zombie slave as I take over the world.' Ah ha!" Laughter filled the room. She glanced at him, and he was glaring darkly. "Oh. Wow. You're serious? Okay then. You're insane."

"Everyone became immortal because of the moon." Tooth sent her a strange look.

"How'd ya become an immortal, then?" Bunny challenged.

"I don't know. This dark thing floated over my head." Amber shrugged. "And it was right before I was about to die, so then I just became immortal."

Sandy made a question mark above his head. They all stared at her with raised eyebrows.

"Okay...that's not normal."

"Oh, sure, and the moon resurrecting people from the dead is." Amber rolled her eyes. "Anything else I can help you with?"

"Why did you team up with Pitch?" North asked.

"Pfft. _Me_ team up with _Pitch_? As if. I'd be more likely to kill him first." Amber replied.

_Why did you team up with his kids?_ Sandy asked.

"Because they need help to save their dad, or they're gonna lose him. And I know what that's like." Amber replied.

"So...you lost your dad?" Tooth asked quietly.

"No," Amber shook her head sadly, "my brother." The Guardians stared at her a moment, surprised that her face was so plain, so blank, at such a topic. Did she not love her brother? Or was she just good at hiding her inner thoughts and emotions?

After a long moment of silence, other than the yetis and elves, of course, Amber sighed in annoyance. "By the way," with ease, she burned the ropes at her arms at legs, and stood casually before them, "where're my twin axes?"

The Guardians automatically went into attack positions, to Amber's amusement.

"We're not tellin' you, ya flaming freak." Bunny hissed.

Amber leaned towards him, ignoring everyone else instinctively raising their weapons. "Why ever not?"

"Pfft. Just how stupid do ya think we are?" Bunny glared at her, inches from her face, and clearly in striking distance.

"Well," Amber counted on her fingers, "you tried to tie me up, you tried to capture me, you fought against me, you angered me, you messed with me...Yeah, I think you guys are pretty stupid."

Bunny scowled. "You wanna go, ya flamethrower?" One hand slid onto his belt, ready to grab his boomerang.

Amber stared at him with a thoughtful look a moment. She knew that if she tried to make a run for it, one of them would surely catch her, knowing that most of them had quite a lot of speed, and she didn't even know her way around this huge workshop. And it was freezing outside, so not only would that slow Amber down, but Jack would get her for sure. Then a plan formed in her mind, a perfect escape plan that was just so...so _Amber_ that they wouldn't know what hit them.

"Nah. Too boring." She replied, casually leaning away from him. Amber looked around a moment, "I see you foolishly have this place made mostly out of wood." She rubbed her hands together a moment, causing some sparks of fire to flicker off them. "Now, unless you'd like to see how bright this place can get when it's on fire, please give me back my axes."

"Is that a threat?" North glared at her, both hands on his now slightly unsheathed swords.

"No, it was a compliment." Amber rolled her eyes. "Of course it was a threat."

In a rush of anger, North slashed at her with both swords in a perfect circular movement. Amber did a swift back flip, made a small fireball, and aimed it at one of the few wooden walls in the workshop. Sure, she couldn't fly or control lava without her twin axes, but fireballs were a different story.

"All it takes is one spark for this place to come crumbling down." Amber shrugged, letting the fire inch it's way into the wall, leaving behind a black mark.

"Ugh." North groaned. Then he tossed the familiar double-sided twin axes at Amber. She caught them casually and reattached them to her belt. In the process, her fire disappeared.

"Was that so hard?" She smirked at him mischievously. Amber then sat down and placed both hands behind her head. "So, now what?"

"I don't know, you're the entertainment." Jack grinned.

"You guys don't get how this works, do you? First of all, you guys are the ones entertaining me, for the multiple times in the future when I will totally surprise you and I will get to laugh at your faces. Second, I'm not the entertainment, I'm the prisoner. You guys captured me fair and square, well, sort of, so now I follow you around, do what you want, etc, until I can escape. Easy as that." Amber shrugged. "So, like I said, now what?"

* * *

After a moment of hushed tones among the Guardians, Sandy left, as half of the world would be asleep soon, and the other half just waking up. The remainder of Guardians agreed to go to Tooth's palace, as you couldn't go far if you couldn't fly, and even then, there was Tooth, who not only knew the place like the back of her hand, but also had been flying for the past almost thousand years.

"What's that for?" Amber asked in confusion as they took out a snow globe. To her surprise, they smashed it on the ground, and the portal appeared. They all walked through it, with Amber grinning. "So epic."

* * *

"Jack!" Baby Toothed twittered and fluttered over to him, jumping into his hair and ruffling it, before falling into his palm. She had been surprisingly doing well, directing all the other fairies to where the teeth were while Tooth was away, yet she was quite exhausted. "Who's this?" She asked in her very high-pitched voice, so high pitched you could hardly hear her. She was looking at Amber.

"Oh, um, that's-" Jack began.

Baby Tooth involuntarily fluttered over to her, and then rested on her shoulder, snuggled up in a ball. "You're so warm!"

"Oh. I, um..." Amber resisted the instinctual urge to flick the fairy off, mostly because she was still in shock and because she was slightly amused how Jack tensed. Amber wasn't dumb, she could see how the tiny fairy and Jack acted like best friends. (And, secretly, just like just about everyone else in the room, she thought that Baby Tooth was adorable.) "C-Could you get off, please?" She stuttered.

"Aw. Why?" Baby Tooth pouted, backing away. "You're really warm and comfy!"

"I, just, um, normally I'm not warm, I'm hot, and I don't wanna burn you." Amber spoke quickly.

"Oh, okay." Baby Tooth grinned. "I'm Baby Tooth, what's your name?"

"Amber." She replied, sort of shaking hands with the tiny fairy, who really was just shaking her pinky finger.

Jack glared. It had always annoyed him how being near someone would simply just freeze them to death. No one wanted to be near cold, instead they wanted heat. And, the worst part was, he couldn't help being cold, and the ones he was near to couldn't help being cold, and Jack couldn't do much about it but keep his distance, and the winter sprite had been distant three hundred years.

But, Amber, on the other hand...

The jealousy and hate coming off him quickly attracted some familiar faces.

* * *

"This way." Invidia grinned, suddenly turning east. Her green eyes began to sort of glow, and her nails grew sharper and longer into claws.

"Ooh, that is strong." Blake shook his head at the raw hate he felt. His hands turned silver, and out of nowhere two knives appeared. They all rushed towards Tooth's palace.

"Alright, who hates who and who's jealous?" Monica asked in a whisper.

"The boy with the white hair." Invidia replied.

"Jealous why?"

"Because all he does is make everyone around him cold, and Amber makes everyone warm. He's jealous because most of the time, you'd rather be warm than cold." Invidia replied. "And the hate is rather implied with that, and the fact that they're opposites."

"Gee, thanks for leading us right to ya, winter boy." Donovan muttered, grinning. "But here's something I don't get. Amber's not tied up. Why isn't she running?"

"Who knows. Amber's unpredictable. We'll wait until we can get a chance to talk to her." Monica said, and they then eavesdropped on everything the group below them said.

* * *

When the backs of the Guardians were turned, and Amber was sitting by a small fire, making it grow and shrink, the four stuck their heads out.

"What are you doing?! Why aren't you running?" Invidia demanded in a loud whisper.

"What I'm doing is playing with fire, and I'm not running because that would just prove I'm afraid of them, which, by the way, I am not." Amber shrugged.

"Why haven't you tried to escape yet?" Monica asked in a quieter voice.

"Because I'm learning their weakness and strengths and allies and all that good stuff." Amber replied. "They don't know it, but they've already shown me too much. Jack hates me hanging out with the tiny fairy thing, the rabbit hates sleigh rides, the huge hummingbird fairy is very motherly and overprotective, and the old guy thinks the world revolves around Christmas. Trust me, when I want to leave, I will. And when I do, I'll get to laugh at the look on their faces, because I will have totally shocked them."

"Alright. If you know what you're doing..." Donovan said.

"I do, I always do. You guys go look for new leads to your dad's situation, and I'll get the info." Amber replied. The four then dashed away, in slight shock and awe. Amber then turned back to playing with the fire.

* * *

"Come on, seriously?" Amber rolled her eyes. "This is, by far, the most _boring_ thing I've ever done. And I'm currently doing absolutely nothing!"

"No, you're currently complaining about being bored." Jack smirked.

"True. But I am! Seriously, aren't you supposed to be the Guardian of Fun or something? Or was that the oversized rabbit?"

"No, the oversized rabbit is the Guardian of Hope." Jack corrected.

"Alright, that's just messed up. For the Guardian of Hope, he sure had none when he was on that sleigh ride with the old guy two minutes ago. Where was he going, again?"

"His hometown." Jack shrugged. What Amber hadn't yet noticed was the snow bomb ready to drop above her head, which Jack was using his staff to hold up, behind his back.

Amber sat in thought a moment, still thoroughly bored. But she was interrupted from her musing when two feet of snow covered her. She grinned at the laughing Jack, and took out her twin axes. "You _really_ shouldn't have done that."

"I don't regret it at all. Your face!" Jack rolled back with laughter, just in time to be knocked off his feet by a heat wave. Warm water puddles filled the place where snow used to be.

Jack, now flipping backwards in a ball, extended his legs just as he was about to hit a tree, and, upside-down, stood there, with his legs wrapped around a large branch. He flipped thrice and landed upright on the branch, in the process, shooting ice and snow everywhere.

Amber grinned. "I gotta admit, that was pretty darn awesome."

"Was it not?" Jack laughed, then shot more ice at her. Soon, with the help of the two winds, they were flying away in constant battle, Amber analyzing his every move. Tooth shook her head when she saw them, and continued to find teeth. Baby Tooth, however, had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

If only Baby Tooth knew the disaster she would come to when she woke up.

* * *

Jack:

I didn't _mean_ to go to Burgess. That was the very last place I would go with a fire girl on my trail. Not straight towards Jamie and his friends. I guess I was too caught up with fighting Amber. Shit. Once again, I was having fun, and then made a mistake that could kill someone... And the last time I died, and lost my sister. I can't lose Jamie, I can't lose any of his friends.

_Damn you Jack._

Amber flipped backwards, avoiding my ice, and landed on the snow, and melted it. Then she took out her twin axes and flipped them twice, causing fire to fly my way.

I had been in a lot of pain before. Heck, I've drowned, broken my leg when I was just starting to fly, got a black eye from Leprechaun, (don't ask) and wrestled with my inner pain of being ignored for three. Hundred. Years.

Yet never before I had been in more pain than when fire hit me. I expected the slight amount of cold I produced to melt that fire before it could touch me, but that fire just melted my defenses and made its way to me. And with a lot of speed.

Amber shot more fire around, and I soon could see grass under the water and small patches of leftover melting snow.

_Damn you Amber. Damn you fire._

"Hey, guys, look! It's Jack!" A familiar voice called.

"Is he- fighting someone?"

_Damn you Jack._

* * *

Amber:

The instant cold always got me. I just didn't get how the ice from Jack's staff just seemed to make everything in me freeze. I mean, I'm heat. Shouldn't his ice melt before it hit me?

It annoyed me, really. How when he hit me the blast would send me on my knees, exhausted. It was so painful to feel my heat fade away as his cold froze my core. I can't stand the cold, I'm just heat.

"Hey, guys, look! It's Jack!"

"Is he fighting someone?"

"Let's go look!"

Panic flew into Jack's eyes, allowing me to grin. Anything that scared that freezing cold snowman was worth seeing.

"Jack?" A boy with brown hair and brown eyes came out.

Jack stood up out of his 'battle stance' and leaned on his staff casually. (Man I want one of those. So freaking epic.) "Hey kiddo."

"Why do you look so...exhausted?"

"Because I am." Jack shrugged.

_I gotta hand it to him, he's a good actor. A really good actor._

"Oh. You're just here to say 'bye' before the summer? It _is_ getting warmer..." He frowned. A huge girl with a tutu, striped tights, a pink shirt and coat, and brown hair walked out. Soon followed a girl with reddish-brown hair and a white cap and green shirt and scarf. Then two darker skinned, similar looking boys, and a nerdy-looking one followed. I knew they couldn't see me, but they still consistently talked to Jack.

"So...I guess this is goodbye until...early autumn?" The boy asked.

"Yup." Jack replied. They all rushed at him in a group hug. After a few moments of sad muttering, the kids finally went back inside. Jack glanced at me, but there wasn't a fight in him. But there was confusion. "First of all, thank you for not harming them. Second, why didn't you attack me? I was weak and distracted..."

"Oh, what fun would that be? Those kids would be like 'what the heck?' when you'd suddenly fall backwards for no apparent reason. Actually, that sounds like a _lot_ of fun." I grinned. "Honestly, I'm just as exhausted as you are. You put up a good fight."

"Well...why didn't you try and get them to see you?" Jack asked.

I sighed. _Do you not understand a single thing?_

"Ha! Are you kidding? Look Jack, I've heard your little saying before. 'You don't want Jack Frost nipping at your nose.'" I shook my head. "But, see, I don't exist. I don't have a saying, I'm not even an idea. I mean, some don't believe in the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus, but they know that the idea that they do exists. I'm not an idea, and they don't have a clue that I exist. So that's that."

"Do you even care?"

"Not really. Being invisible is fun, sometimes. Sometimes it's boring...and lonely, but that's a given." I replied.

_Is that...sympathy in his eyes? Oh, hell to the no._

I quickly changed the subject. "So those were your little believers?"

"Um, yeah. Met 'em when we fought Pitch, cuz he was trying to take over the world, but-" Jack began.

"-But you guys stopped him and he's now in his little lair being tortured to death, yeah, I know. Pitch is a jerk, and I've had to keep an eye on him for a while." I shrugged. "But seriously, you guys were damn dramatic. Pitch couldn't take over the world if you guys didn't even exist. He's just that stupid. 'The dark ages' were when no one had any courage, and everyone was just miserable, because Pitch could send them nightmares of things that they saw all day in reality. Now, Pitch is weaker, and all he can do is give someone a nightmare and then the kids will wake up and go crying to their parents, and they'll be comforted. Easy as that. He could make lives miserable in the past, but not anymore."

"True." Jack said. "Now, I don't know about you, but I think it's about time to go somewhere else."

"Agreed."

* * *

Both with the help of their winds, the two sprites flew away, not knowing they were being watched.

"Ha, it seems our two spirits have reacquainted." Satan grinned. "And all the pieces of the puzzle falling into place."

Two nightmares whimpered in fear in front of him.

"Ugh, begone with you, beasts. Tell your ex-master that I've set my eyes on this planet, and I intend it to be mine, and I'm going to do a lot more than just give little kids bad dreams." Satan hissed. The horses ran away in fear, straight towards Pitch's lair. Ignoring a direct order from Satan would simply result in a visit in Hell for all eternity. Satan made a picture of Jamie out of black sand. "In fact, I intend to make those bad dreams," he crushed the mini Jamie, causing the black sand to turn into blood and drip off his bony, ugly, claw-like fingers, "reality."

* * *

The sun was nearly through setting, and, though they both had instincts to attack each other, they flew around above the clouds. Their previous fight was taking a bad toll on them. The moon was low in the sky, but still in view, just above the clouds. A blue lighting covered the heaven-like place, the clouds looking blue, and the stars above them shining.

A memory hit Amber, out of the blue, something that commonly happened. An image would appear of her past when she was feeling peaceful, so her image would be peaceful. But all memories from her past either made her hate herself, mad at herself, or heartbroken.

"Are you- are you crying?" Jack stared at Amber in shock.

"N-No." Amber bit her lip. "I just got something in my eye."

Jack raised an eyebrow at her. "Spill the beans, Mrs. I'm-So-Tough."

"I just, um, r-remembered this lullaby my mom used to sing to me."

Silence. Jack was curious, too curious for his own good. "How about you sing it? Maybe I've heard of it."

"Y-You...want _me_ to...to sing?!" Amber just gaped at him. And then she laughed nervously. "No you don't. That's not funny, Jack. I can't sing."

"Should I care?" Jack stared at her. "And aren't you supposed to do what I say, until you can get away, _prisoner_?" He reminded her.

'Until you can get away.' The words bounced in her head a moment before dashing downwards. Jack, just as fast, grabbed her hand in an attempt to stop her. The weird, tickly sensation of cold and heat mixing sent them both yanking back.

Jack sighed after a moment. "Just damn sing, Amber."

"I-I...just..." Amber looked away from him, shifting uncomfortably.

"We can sit here all day if that's what you want." Jack said with a hint of annoyance.

Amber sighed, and Jack relaxed slightly. With his guard down, Amber flew away at full speed. Jack laughed from behind and followed. He watched exactly where she went, and followed under the clouds. Then, he he popped out right in front of her.

In the end, he grabbed her, and held both of her hands behind her back. Again, they felt the strange tingle of their opposite elements mixing where their skin touched. It soon mixed into the perfect temperature, and neither really wanted to pull away. Amber sighed in annoyance. "Seriously Frost? To make me damn sing?"

"Seriously." Jack chuckled. Moments of silence. "I don't have all night, ya know."

Amber sighed, and thought of the lullaby she remember so well. "_Purple flame, purple flame, burning in never ending power. Immortal fire, immortal fire, flickering with familiar tales. Eternal blaze, eternal blaze, sparking with untold secrets. Frost and flame, combining opposite elements of loathing. Purple flame, purple flame, in love it burns, in hate it dies. So keep your purple flame alive._" She remembered her mother's voice distinctly, how it was always slow and soft...and just perfect. But only after she noted Jack's wide-eyed stare did she realize she had sung it aloud.

* * *

Jack had heard that song before. He knew he had. It was that memory at the back of his mind.

"My mom used to sing that to me, too."

"Really?" Amber looked like she didn't believe him.

"Really. It's my favorite song."

Manny looked sadly at them._ If only the two knew they were siblings..._ His attention was then directed to Satan, expanding his power to make him stronger, plotting dark plans of death, murder, and revenge. Manny, though he couldn't really read the future, could see small visions of how a conflict would unfold. So he knew that Jack would remember becoming a Guardian, he knew Pitch would attack.

_And now Satan will do the same, and he may not succeed, however... _the Man in the Moon looked at the fire girl before him, _one already miserable life will not be spared._ Amber was grinning. Grinning through all the pain she had already been through, all the death she had to witness, it often being her fault, and heartbreak overwhelmed the Man in the Moon. He did not like the way the future looked._  
_

Like it or not, Manny could see it all too clearly. The death of Amber would be a sacrifice to save the world. But it would be in vain.

* * *

**Alright. There's da fourth. Well, that was a fun chapter. And yes, I know, I know, making Satan crush something made out of black sand totally copies Pitch from the movie, but you gotta admit, how it turned to blood was freaky. Plus, hey, Satan is supposed to be Pitch's father, so maybe he got it from him or something. I don't know.**

**Yet another flaw. I know, this was a really short chapter. Only 4,000 words when most are 7,000. But I had, what, three chapters that were too long, I think you can live with one or two shorter ones.**

**(P.S., More info on the Black kids: Misery's (Monica's) tears, Hatred's (Blake's) Blade, Pain's (Donovan's) Glare, and Jealousy's (Invidia's) Claws. The Black kids powers. Monica can control water, Blake has two knives and his hands are harder than diamond in 'silver mode', Donovan's eyes turn bloodshot red and he basically has lazer eyes, and Invidia has claws that have poison in them that will temporarily paralyze you. PLEASE tell me if that isn't cool.)**

**Peace out!**

**-ihearthorses6000**


	5. Chapter 5: Entering Satan's Domain

**Hey guys. Chapter five...chapter five...already?! **

**Well...**

**shit. I'm not even done with chapter six yet! Pizza, cheese, avocados... **

**I guess I overestimated my writing speed...sorry to dissapoint you guys, but it's gonna be a few days before I get the next chapter up. *facepalm* I'm such an idiot. Sorry!**

**And...omg. 317 views. (And counting. Omg, omg, omg! *Shrieks*) 317 people have sat down with their laptop, computer, ipod, iphone, or whatever, and freaking red my story! Me believing that that's even possible for one of my stories is like me jumping off a cliff singing 'I believe I can fly!'. If I could fly, though, I would scream into the heavens, 'THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU!' No, seriously, thank you! **

* * *

Amber sighed with anger and annoyance. "Why do I screw everything up? What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I always effing burning things? Why is everyone always _dying_? What the _hell_!" She shot fire into the middle of nowhere, and Jack silently thanked the moon that the flames of her endless anger weren't directed at him.

"Why me?" Amber suddenly fell back, her shoulders slumping. A muffled sob escaped her as she let out a shaky breath into her hands. "Why my family? _Why_?" A tear managed to roll down her face.

Jack guardedly flew towards her, trying to think of how to comfort her even though he had little to no clue what was wrong. He held out a hand to place on her shoulder, but, like any sane person, he hesitated. "Um, I...Amber?"

SMACK

"Ha ha, sucker!" Amber smirked like the actress she was. "You're lucky. I really should've just punched you in the gut or given you a black eye. Why on earth did I just settle for a slap across the face?" She shook her head and floated downwards.

Jack chuckled, holding his now red left cheek, and cautiously followed.

* * *

Amber:

_"Amber." Mom grinned at me, smiling through her tears. "You're going to be alright."_

_"Me? Alright? Are you kidding? My life is over! Jack's gone, dad's gone, and you're..."_

_"Sh. I've taught you a lot of lessons, but I want you to teach you one more." She lifted my chin, so, out the window, I could see the moon. "When does the moon rise?"_

_"At night, obviously." I replied._

_"And when will it stop rising?"_

_"Never."_

_"Exactly. And people will never stop being born, and people will never stop dying." She whispered, her usually strong grip on my arm loosening._

_"M-Mom, no!" I stopped her. I could feel the burning in my eyes, but I ignored it. "No, no, no. Don't- Don't say that."_

_"Hush, child." She whispered. "You're going to be alright, you understand me? The present looks dim but the future is bright. And always remember, keep your purple flame alive." She gave me a weak grin. Mom's head laid back and her eyes closed as she took her last breath._

* * *

Amber:

_Worst nightmare ever._

I wiped sweat off my forehead and jumped out of bed, glad to see I had woken up just before the old workshop would come down in flames. I felt a familiar wind call to me, so I grabbed my axes as I snuck around the workshop. The Guardians had fallen asleep quickly, and I heard no noise in the old place. Which started to make me suspicious.

_**'You're tense, why?'**_ Will asked.

"I don't know. It's just too quiet..." I whispered back.

_Isn't it normal for it to be quiet at night? What's wrong with you, Amber?_

**_'...I sense a presence. A dark one.'_**

I glanced around, and then scowled. "And I think I know who it is."

It wasn't that hard to tell, just by looking around. The shadows around me twirled and circled around the room, swallowing every inch, every object in pure darkness. I was getting that goosebump feeling when you just knew someone else was there, hiding in the silence of the night.

I glanced out the window and noticed the silhouette of a familiar jerk, a hand ready to wrap around the neck of the unsuspecting Jack on a branch of a frozen tree. Jack was staring off into the distance, his eyes on the horizon. The moon seemed to brighten in alarm.

I couldn't help myself. The chance to attack Pitch was all too tempting.

"Ah!" He let out a very girly cry, but still kept it slightly quieter than a scream. With a flip of my axe, Pitch was surrounded by tall fire in a circle around him.

"And _that_," I said, as I flipped one axe around, and continued to do so as I threw the other one up and caught it, then flipped them both once, and ended my little performance, "is why you don't play with fire."

Pitch rubbed off the ash marks on his arm. "That was quite impressive, Spark, but slightly immature."

"Well, duh, that was the point." I rolled my eyes.

"What the hell just happened?" Jack asked, his staff at the ready.

"Oh, the Boogeyman over here was about to kick your ass, so I shot him with a fire blast in the arm, and I'm not sorry at all. The look on his face was priceless!"

"Okay...and what are you doing here?" Jack asked, glaring at Pitch.

"Oh, you can't guess?" Pitch replied.

"Well, there are three things you normally do. Give kids nightmares, nearly get killed by your own nightmares, or annoy someone." I shrugged.

_How did he get out...alive?_

* * *

Pitch gasped for breath, sweat running down his face, a hand still on the stinging burn Amber had given him. Anytime he moved, he felt the pain of knives stabbing the rejecting muscle, continuously. His head felt ready to explode, and he found it quite difficult to simply stand. Fighting the two opposite elements would simply be the end of him. Escaping from his own lair was tough, but he did it, thanks to the distracting visit Sandy made. When the nightmares attacked Sandy, the Guardian of Dreams quickly fought back, destroying more than half of them, the other half weakened. Pitch took the advantage to leave. And there he was, standing before Fire and Ice, exhausted.

He had only come to the pole because he had considered warning Jack of future danger, but began to rethink his decision. By that time, Pitch already had a hand two inches from Jack's neck. And that was when Amber intervened.

Pitch had to get stronger, he had to give out fear, if he was to ever get the nightmares back on his side. As long as they smelled his fear they would attack him, and smothering fear by giving it out to others is often the best way to be rid of it, or so his opinion went.

After some tense conversation, mostly coming from Pitch, trying to keep them distracted, he sighed and slowly turned to a shadow. "I'd love to stay longer, but I have some kids to scare. Oh, and Jack, because it's only fair to warn you, a certain someone is going to harm a person very close to you." Pitch disappeared into the night with a slight chuckle.

Jack's first instinct was the Guardians. So he whirled around and rushed towards the pole. But Amber knew better. How would Pitch get one of the Guardians? He had his fight with them, and he lost thoroughly.

_Why go after the harder prey..._

Amber thought, throwing one of the three snow globes she had stolen on the ground.

_When you can go after the defenseless ones?_

"To Burgess." She whispered, walking through the portal.

* * *

Jack:

_Think, Jack. Who's the easiest one to get? _

There was no way it was North, he was perfectly fine. _Bunny and Sandy can handle themselves..._

I grabbed a snow globe off the shelf and smashed it on the ground. "Tooth palace."

* * *

Amber:

I expected a different scene, seemingly Pitch with some terrified kid. But the dark figure had red eyes, and, through his black cloak, I saw two red horns.

"Are you...? Satan?"

The creature grinned. "That would be me." He had, by far, the most low, disgusting, disturbing voice I had ever heard.

I glanced at the boy behind him..._Jamie, was it?_ The worst part about trying to help him was he couldn't see me, and I couldn't touch him. How could I save him?

_I can't._

_ Great, so I just came here to watch him die? Really, Amber? I can't save him. Shit._

_...Why do you want to?_

_Oh, who the heck knows._

"Craaaap." I muttered. "What's Hell like?"

"Well, your cell would be whatever your worst nightmare is. The darkest thing you can think of that could happen to you."

"Then my cell is pretty similar to this reality." I muttered. "Shit."

Jamie raised an eyebrow. "Who're you talking to?"

"Ah, I forgot. You can't see her. In fact, no human can. And all the non-humans don't really care." Satan replied. "No one really cares about an invisible ghost, huh?"

_Don't listen to him, Amber. Focus, Amber, focus, and, while you're at it, kick this guy's ass. Please? ...No? No focusing? No nothing? Come on, please?... Fine. _

_Whoa. I'm going to hell..._

_Shit._

* * *

"How about this." Satan said, grinning at her. "Do you like games?"

"That depends. But for the most part, yes." Amber raised an eyebrow. "What kind of game are we talking about?"

"Oh, I don't know, the kind of game where, if you win, you and the boy both go off and do whatever it is you desire." Satan said apathetically.

"...And, if you win?"

"You both get the grand tour to the darkest cages in Hell." Satan smirked. "_Or_, you and I team up, and torture this kid."

"Fine." Amber sighed. "I'll bite, what's this game of yours?"

* * *

Jack:

"Jack!" Tooth grinned and fluttered over. "Is something wrong? You look worried."

"Well, I thought there was, but apparently I was just being paranoid..." Tooth said something in reply, but I didn't hear much, since her voice was being slowly faded out.

_What were you thinking, Jack? Trusting Pitch's words to be true. Really? Wow, just wow._

_Maybe he wasn't lying...but he had to be. Who else would he harm?_

_Who am I not thinking of? Damn._

* * *

"Jack!" Tooth shook him, her brows furrowed worriedly. "Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

There was a glassy, absent, faraway look in the winter blue eyes. "Huh? Yeah, fine."

"Jack." Tooth folded her arms and gave him a raised eyebrow. "You are not leaving until you tell me. What's wrong?"

"W-What? Nothing, nothing's _wrong_..." Jack began talking, and then tried to dash past her, but Tooth firmly but gently grabbed his arm and pulled him back. There was little that could stand in her way. (Other than cavities.)

"Jack." She repeated.

"Fine, fine." Jack sighed and began muttering about the previous encounter with Pitch at such a fast rate that Tooth wouldn't be able to understand, but Tooth had tiny little fairies who had high-pitched voices and almost always talked quickly, so Tooth was able to keep up.

"He's...going to harm someone close to you?" Her brows furrowed with worry.

"Well, he said that a certain someone is going to harm someone close to me..." Jack replied.

"...Jack. Pitch wouldn't harm a Guardian. He's already learned his lesson in that department. But who has Pitch seen you with, other than us? Think."

* * *

Jack:

The answer was so obvious. So clearly obvious it annoyed me I hadn't thought of it before. (I guess my only excuse is that I was sick with worry. Lame excuse, I know.)

"Jamie." I gaped, and whirled around.

_Damn, I need a snow globe!_

I rushed around, trying to think of which direction Burgess would be in.

**_Jack? What's wrong? _**

"Pitch is after Jamie." I hissed. That was all it took for Cindy to send me at full speed towards Burgess. Add her speed and mine, and we'd be going about as fast as a race car. Then add in a little anger, plus annoyance, plus worry, from both of us, and you'd have a little over five hundred miles an hour.

_But screw math._

_Jamie needs me._

_...Am I too late? _

_Shit. **Shit!**_

* * *

Jack rushed to Burgess, but what he saw was not a pleasant sight. There was a hole in the ground with ashes of dying flames in it, a light pole crushed and tossed aside, fire/ash marks everywhere, and the smell of leftover smoke.

"He's gone. He's really gone." Claude muttered in a hushed voice.

Pippa wiped a hidden tear. "I wonder what happened to him?"

"Or what _is_ happening to him." Caleb said with a shudder. "Wherever he is." The Believers stood around the place as police inspected every inch of it, mostly confused about the crushed light pole. Who could be strong enough to do that?

Anger surged through Jack.

_The whole with flames, the ash marks, the smoke..._

It all screamed 'Amber' in his ear. He rushed off, hissing about all the things he couldn't wait to do to the accused fire girl under his breath.

* * *

Three days they had been looking. Not just for Amber, but Jamie. Sandy hadn't seen a sign of Jack, either, as the boy would speed away from place to place, day and night, all his thoughts revolving around the horrible things that could be happening to Jamie every moment.

Sandy flew around, also worried. Amber wasn't much of a threat, not to a kid like Jamie. Surely, she wasn't that wasn't that heartless...?

Then he caught Jack flying around, and, though it was for a split second, he saw the worry, the anger, the depression in those blue eyes. After his heart nearly stopped by how overpoweringly desperate the teen looked, Sandy stopped in his tracks and prepared to do just about anything to help Jack.

Instantly, the Guardian of Dreams made a sand whip that reached out and grabbed the winter sprite.

"Ugh, Sandy! I don't have time for this!" Jack struggled against the strong rope. Drowsiness overcame him as the golden sand began to intertwine with his features, and looked as if he was half asleep.

In this state, most people would tell Sandy just about anything, so Sandy began making sand gestures. S_low down, calm down, and breathe deeply. _Sandy waited until his command was obeyed, as smelling dream sand (which slightly smelled like cinnamon and sunflowers) would make you more tired and under Sandy's power.

_Now, tell me what's wrong._ Sandy demanded.

"Well, I'm just really worried about Jamie...I mean, what could be happening to him? What could that horrible, terrible, ugly fire girl possibly be doing to him?" Jack sighed. "I just hope he's alright..."

_Don't worry, with you saving him, Jamie will be fine. Do you not trust yourself at all?_ Sandy asked, reeling in his whip, along with the sleepy Jack.

"Not really. You guys don't seem to trust me, so why should I?" Jack muttered. He yawned with exhaustion. The dream sand really worked its magic fast.

_What do you mean, we don't trust you?_ Sandy asked, pulling in his whip even more.

"You guys didn't seem to trust being in the same country as me for three hundred years, and that kinda told me you guys don't trust me, or like me, very much." Jack muttered. Then he shook his head slightly. How did the subject change from Jamie to Jack that quickly?

Satisfied with answers, Sandy removed the sand whip from him. Instantly, Jack was wide awake, and their conversation rolled around in his head until he realized exactly what he had said. And Sandy, because he reeled Jack in, was now only a foot or so away from the winter spirit.

_Jack, Jamie is going to be fine. We'll find him. And we all trust and love you, and don't forget it. Understand?_

Jack looked away, with tears in his eyes, and nodded.

_Now let's go find your first believer._

Then they noticed the colorful Aurora in the sky.

"It seems like one of us already has." Jack grinned widely, and then he and Sandy both flew off towards the pole.

* * *

"Bunny found fire lady!" North announced the moment they were all together.

"Eh, not exactly, mate. I found 'er trail." Bunny corrected him. "It won't be hard for us to follow."

"To the sleigh!" North boomed through the workshop, and they all turned to go, Bunny grumbling about how unsafe the sleigh was.

"Wait, guys." Jack flew in front of them. "I'll go. Alone."

"What? No way! You can't go by yourself, not against Amber." Tooth replied.

"Are you kidding? I can handle that dumb fire girl. Besides, even if I can't, I can at least get Jamie back here where it's safe." Jack replied. "It's my fault this happened, and I'll fix it. Now, it's either you help me or you stand in my way. Bunny, where did you find her trail?"

"About here, in Africa." Bunny pointed to a spot on the globe. "There were burnt trees and fire everywhere, and an entire forest destroyed." He scowled in disgust. "Little fire freak ruining nature like that! Ugh!"

"Alright." Jack said, and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Tooth stopped him. "That's sounds a little bit like a trap, don't you think?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Knowing us girls, she wants you to come, and she has some kind of plan. Be very careful, and if you need us," she held out a high-pitched horn, which all fairies would hear, "blow on this. It'll let me know you need help and I'll get the others. Okay?"

"Alright. Thanks guys. Be right back." Jack stuffed the horn in his pocket, then whirled around, grabbed two snow globes, threw one on the ground, and put the other in his other pocket. He waved goodbye as he walked through the portal.

"Well...what now?" Tooth asked, shifting after the minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"Anyone up for War?" North asked. "I'll go easy, and use Nice hand!" He held out his left arm, tattooed with a decorative word 'Nice', the other one 'Naughty'.

Bunny frowned. "Eh, I like Poker better, mate!"

* * *

Jack:

Bunny was right. There was fire everywhere. The heat made me wince, and the smoke wasn't all that pleasant, either. But then I turned around and noticed the fire girl, just walking away from me like it was any other day.

Ice with the potential of a blizzard began to form around me as I rushed at her.

* * *

"Whoa!" Amber gasped, and with the help of Will, just barely made it out of the way of his large ice attacks. "Easy, winter boy."

"Where is he?!" Jack screamed, throwing seven snow blasts at her.

She dodged each one with her fancy little flips, much to Jack's annoyance. "Where is _who_?!"

He shot one of his strongest blasts at her, but, once again, she dodged. "Damn, just die already!"

"Oh, you mean that boy you were talking to you other day. What his his name? James?" Amber asked, grinning like she was taunting him. "Jamie?"

"Argh!" Jack shot three blasts at her, while she sent her fire to meet them.

"Haven't seen him, sorry." Amber said, doing three back flips and then flying into the air.

"What have you done to Jamie?!" Jack demanded, his ice, hate, and anger suddenly sending her to the ground. He landed right on top of her, his staff against her neck. "Where is he?" He demanded, his voice low.

"I don't know, I'm serious! I didn't touch your friend, if anything, I was trying to help him. There was this huge guy with these two horns and this weird cloak thing with a black hole..." Amber mumbled.

"Seriously? That's the best lie you could come up with? Huge guy, two horns, a cloak, and a black hole?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"It's not a lie, I swear! He's Satan, Pitch's father, otherwise, why else would Pitch want to warn you?" Amber looked at him.

"Satan. Pitch's father. Seriously? You're not getting any better at lying over here." Jack rolled his eyes. "Now where's Jamie?!"

"_I don't know_!" Amber replied.

"Can you prove it?"

"Um, well, if I talked to Pitch I could, since it_ is_ his father we're talking about. Plus, I'd assume that Satan took Jamie down to Hell, and I have no clue how to get there, but the son of Satan might, so Pitch is definitely our man." Amber replied.

"Hm." Jack glared at her. "Fine." He grabbed the horn out of his pocket and blew it, much to Amber's confusion.

Tooth and the others arrived quite worried, (except for Bunny, who was mostly just sick from the sleigh ride, and also still trying to prove that Tooth cheated to somehow beat him at War,) and were surprised when they found both of them just sitting there, all casual like.

Jack explained to them what the plan was, and if any of them would be able to find out where Pitch was. So they talked around a forest which Bunny was presently trying to rebuild, as where he went a tiny tree or flower was left in his place.

_I think I can-...never mind._ Sandy said through his sand pictures.

"No, no, go ahead, Sandy." Jack said, although he found it a little weird that Sandy would be able to track his opposite.

_I can turn a dream to a nightmare to go contact Pitch's, but it's really, really hard. And I need someone to be asleep._

"Hm, who do I care for the least for at the moment?" Jack asked, glaring at Amber. He rushed forward and grabbed her hand and raised it. "'I'll do it!'" He said in a fake, girly high voice.

"Oh, I really don't think that's a good idea." Amber held up both hands and walked backwards.

Jack grabbed her and held both hands behind her back. "Quick, Sandman!"

Sandy made a dream ball and threw it at Amber, and she was out. The dream of her and her brother floated above her head. Jack stared at it with a raised eyebrow. Why was Amber dreaming about him and his sister?

Sandy made a small ball of dream sand, and closed his eyes in concentration. Making a nightmare was not something Sandy liked to do, but what choice did he have? After a few moments, the sand turned black and began to form. Sandy opened his eyes slightly, and the others noticed they were black. The black sand danced around Sandy a moment before turning into a full Nightmare horse, and then galloped into the closest dream- Amber's.

Unfortunately for Bunny's tiny, adorable forest, they didn't know what happened when Amber had a nightmare.

* * *

"For the millionth time, I'm sorry!" Amber said. "I tried to warn you!"

"You should've tried harder!" Bunny hissed, then turned around to mutter about how much he hated her, as he stared at the ashes of his tiny trees and flowers. "Ugh! Damn fire girl."

Just then, four shadows covered the area. Then the Black kids formed from them.

"Hey guys." Amber grinned. "Just making the fuzzball over here mad about how I burned his precious nature."

"Epic!" Invidia rushed up and gave her a high-five. "So, you being jealous of the winter Guardian, cuz he looked so epic and mad at the same time when he attacked you?"

"W-What? I'm not j-jealous of that rotten pack of snowflakes!" Amber lied.

"Nice try, hon, ya suck at lying."

"See?! I told you!" Jack said.

"Okay, fine, fine." Amber rolled his eyes. "But I have a serious feeling someone was also feeling some misery and hate over here."

"Coming from that guy." Blake and Monica pointed to Jack.

"Ready to feel some more hate?" Jack asked, sending more ice at Amber.

"No thanks!" Amber replied, dodging it again.

"And when is Pitch gonna get here?! It's been forever." Jack looked around.

"What do you guys want with our dad?" Invidia asked.

"To prove something for me." Jack glared at Amber.

_And he should come soon, because Pitch gets more powerful with each Nightmare he sends, and one that didn't come from him should definitely get his attention._ Sandy 'said'.

"Well, he sure is taking his sweet little time."

* * *

"Aw, how adorable." Pitch smirked, staring down at the two twin, five-year-old boys, holding hands in their sleep, both dreaming of playing together. "The two cutest little dreams. That should add up to," he touched one of the dreams, and both soon became nightmares, with, of course, the Nightmare horses chasing the boys, "a rather delicious nightmare."

As the power from the darkness of the nightmares swirled around Pitch, his injuries healed and his grin widened. His hands felt stronger, and he knew he had the power to make dark sand again. But, not only could Pitch feel the fear in the room, he could almost _taste_ it.

Fear...as he might tell you, tasted faintly like blood, but sweeter. That is, if it's from a child. An adult's is more bitter. (And he had had quite fun scaring adults, but he still preferred children.)

Pitch chuckled and flew out the window to go find more sleeping children, his two newborn nightmares following him. But something made Pitch stop short and nearly fall towards the ground. He just barely caught himself inches from a very probable death. A new nightmare, which he hadn't created, floated above him. Shadows leaked out of his hands as a grin plastered itself upon his face.

Pitch was tasting not a child's fear, now, but a teenager's. It wasn't too bitter, it wasn't too sweet, just perfectly in the middle.

"Ah. It's been a long time since I've had this kind of power." Pitch chuckled, shooting a shadow, not black sand, but a shadow, at an unfortunate large oak tree, and it was instantly demolished. That, and seven other trees around it. "I wonder who has so much fear..." He glanced at the third nightmare that had come to him. It had a burning flame in its eyes.

Pitch chuckled, amusement in his eyes. "It's Amber, isn't it?" He grinned at the new nightmare, who snorted pawed the ground. "Yes, I remember the others like you." Amber's nightmares were the ones that had injured Pitch the most in his own lair. But now he had one on_ his_ side. "Magnificent! Take me to her."

Pitch turned on his heel and followed the third nightmare at full speed towards Africa.

* * *

"Well, he sure is taking his sweet little time." Jack muttered.

Pitch appeared out of nowhere, leading to the jumps or small shrieks coming from everyone around him. Everyone, that is, except his kin, who didn't so much as flinch.

After a moment, the Black kids all grinned with happiness, and rushed into Pitch's hug. Pitch and Invidia then began to talk to quickly to each other it was quite hard to anyone else to catch up, although they were sure the topic had something to do with Pitch getting out.

About that time, a blur of black rushed past them and directly towards Amber. The said immortal girl flew backwards in an attempt to dodge the blur of speed, but avoiding it seemed nearly impossible. For a while she rushed around, trying not to get killed. Then she held one hand up and the black blur stopped short, her hand just inches from its face.

The 'black blur' was a real horse-sized Nightmare with a familiar fire flickering in it's eyes. It glared at Amber.

"Look familiar, fire girl?" Pitch asked, patting it on it's neck.

"Unfortunately, yes." Amber sighed. "Hi, Blaze." She knew well the nightmare that haunted her very life. Most nightmares would disappear or run to the shadows when the day came, but not Blaze. When Amber's brother died, and her life became a total nightmare, a tiny Blaze was born. And ever since, Amber had been hunted by the Nightmare. But there were a few things Amber could do about it.

The horse snorted at her name, a dark glare coming out of her fiery eyes. Amber took a cautious step towards the horse, which only made Blaze more agitated. Why were certain people so stupid? Soon Amber took another one, and Blaze then realized what she was doing. Blaze turned and ran away at full speed. Amber grinned and flew after her. Who was scared now?

When Amber caught up with the horse, all she had to do was simply touch it once, and it left a small orange spot on the black horse that spread like a virus until the Nightmare was entirely amber-colored, and it's mane and tail were, instead of spiky-looking black sand, made of fire. Amber grinned and made a small spark of fire and let it loosely fly towards Blaze's forehead, where it turned into a fire mark. "When life gives you shit," Amber used her own fire to flare up the horse's mane, "you tell it to shut the hell up and fucking leave you alone."

"Not correct words. Still true!" North laughed.

"Pitch, from someone who I don't believe, I was told that your father was Satan..." Jack glanced at him.

The Boogeyman grinned very, very slightly. "Well that someone you don't believe is telling the truth. What'd he do this time, I wonder?"

"What do you mean?"

"Satan never leaves a place before he's made his mark." Pitch said. "What'd he do?"

"He took that Jamie kid." Amber broke in.

"Ah, I see. Bummer. He was cute." Pitch shook his head, both hands behind his back.

"What do you mean, 'bummer'?" Jack hissed, his anger rising.

"Well...how do I put this?" Pitch asked himself, slowly walking around. "Satan is a bit more...brutal."

"Could you define 'brutal'?" Amber asked.

"Brutal as in," Pitch glanced once at Jack's face, "murderer."

"Der'mo."* North muttered.

Jack took a small, shaky breath as the venom of Pitch's words dove into him and poisoned his mind with mental images of unignorable horror. "Assuming that Satan went back to Hell, what's the quickest way to get there?" Jack asked.

"Oh, I'm sure he went back to Hell. And it's not hard to get in, it's hard, if not impossible, to get _out_." Pitch replied. "And the gateways to Hell can only be opened by Satan himself."

Just then, a fiery black hole appeared not twenty feet away.

"Let's go!" Jack turned to jump in, as did the rest of the Guardians.

"Uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Pitch chuckled. "Satan's land, Satan's rules. And one of those rules is all magic, all powers, staffs, axes, flight, Nightmares, immortality, they all become useless. And then you're nothing but another mortal for him to crush."

* * *

After another moment of conversation, Tooth was given a bow and a quiver full of arrows, Jack was given a set of large knives, and Sandman was given a rather large hammer. The rest of them would use their regular weapons, even though magic would no longer flow through them. The Guardians then walked through the tunnel. (Amber following because there's no way she'd miss a chance to kick Satan's ass.)

"Dad, please, please please can we go?" Invidia begged.

"Uh, I'm not sure about that..." Pitch began.

"Please? It'll be so fun!"

"Ha. Fun. Sure. Honey, this is Hell we're talking about."

"Come on! Please? It's either all five of us go or I go by myself." Invidia neared the hole.

Pitch sighed and looked at the others, who were nodding. "Fine, fine. But not too long."

Invidia squealed and ran forward, the other Blacks following her straight into Hell.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I think I know what is wrong with this chapter. There wasn't enough comedy. I'll be sure to make the next one as funny as possible, but then again, we're talking about them entering hell. Oh well, I'll figure something out.**

***The definition of 'der'mo' is 'shit'.**

**Also, my definition of 'immortal' is simply this. If you have enough kids/adults/teenagers or whatever believe in you, you could become the strongest person on earth. But if you have absolutely no believers? You still have powers, but can be hurt just as badly as a completely regular person can. And if you're a Guardian, if you have no believers, you're pretty much the weakest thing on earth, until you get so helpless that it basically kills you. (Yeah, isn't being a Guardian just awesome?) I know, my opinion sucks, but it's mine, so there. :P**

**And...torture is finally over! Peace out!**

**-ihearthorses6000**


	6. Chapter 6: Through Hell and Back

**I did I happy dance when I had thirty people reading this story. Now I'm getting close to five hundred, (seriously I'm going to stop counting) and I seriously think I am going to die. Literally. I'm so happy right now I could just jump off a cliff and scream. The reviews had made me want to scream so loud it makes a rainbow explosion. Not possible, which is EXACTLY how I feel right now. NOT POSSIBLE! This is freaking popular...! **

**My heart keeps stopping every time I look at the views. This is something I could probably only imagine in a dream, cuz normally I could only hope to get fifty views...and now I got five hundred...**

**Thank you, thank you, and thank you a thousand times.**

* * *

"Shit." Amber frowned. Heat no longer radiated from her or her axes, so they were completely normal weapons now, and it gave her quite a sense of weakness.

And the others were nowhere in sight. And she was at a certain time in her past, standing beside her younger self.

"Jack!" A nine-year-old cried, watching as her brother fell into the frozen lake. "Jack, no! No, no, no, no! Come back, please come back!" She fell to her knees. "No, no, no! Please no! Jack!" Tears fell onto the lake. "Y-You can't fall in! I need you, I love you!" She stopped, unable to scream any longer without choking on her tears.

Amber suddenly fell to her knees, hands covering her ears. Loud high-pitched voices bounced, taunted, and crushed every thought, inside her head.

_I need you to hold me when I'm terrified. I need you to lie to me, and tell me I'll be alright. I need you be there for me in the future so I can cry on you when I need you. You can't die! You haven't learned what being an adult means. You haven't learned to live, to love, to fight, to win. You have so much ahead of you...you have a future! You. Can't. Die!_

_I need you._

"Ah, there she is. The fire girl." She heard the familiar deep, disgusting voice. The scene in front of her disappeared, and the ringing in Amber's ears slowly went away. "Do you like my little opening act? Spectacular, wasn't it?" He didn't wait, nor expect, an answer. "Now, dearest Emma, don't you ever wonder what really happened to your brother?"

Satan then disappeared, and then she stood up. The full moon was high, setting the scene in a blue state. And then the ice on the lake began to crack. And then a very familiar boy rose up and hovered for a moment, staring at the moon.

_Your name is Jack Frost, you are the Spirit of Winter. _

Amber gasped. Did she just hear the moon _talk_?

The winter sprite floated back down to the ice, and the hole that he came from closed up. He looked around in confusion a moment, and began to walk- before nearly tripping on a strange shepherd's stick.

Amber let out a small gasp.

The past image of Jack then discovered his staff, and the wind, could let him fly. Sitting on a large branch, he then noticed a village. Amber watched as the new immortal learned that no one could see, touch, or even notice him, other than the cold he brought with him.

The image began to time warp. Three hundred years, Jack wandered around, reckless, mischievous, and seemingly happy, but deep down, sad, alone, and quite miserable.

Amber kicked a tree, which she expected to be just an image, but apparently Satan had sent her into the past, and she wasn't just imagining things. The fire girl screamed into her hands, realizing that the time that she was alone wanting her brother, her brother was also alone with no memory of her. And during those three hundred years, they never met because cold and heat hardly ever did.

She screamed and cried multiple times as she watched her brother and the other Guardians fight Pitch. She had seen how it happened, she had been there- she just couldn't believe that her dead brother was very much alive, and when she realized it, they were both in mortal danger.

"Oh, dear Emma," Satan shook his head, "please stop the wailing. I haven't hurt you..." He held up a knife. "Yet."

* * *

"What the?" Jack watched as the one situation in his life that made him immortal, and a Guardian, unfolded. He then literally watched his former self fall into the ice, leaving his sister in tears.

The next few things he witnessed, -himself coming to the village the next night, a couple years later it burning in flames, and his sister becoming a fire girl- left him too visibly shaken to move.

"Isn't it fascinating, Jack? How for three hundred years your sister mourned over your death, while you had no memory of her...and now that you know," the dark silhouette stepped out of the shadows, chuckling, "she's dead."

"She's-she's _what_?" Jack gaped.

"Dead. D-E-A-D." Satan replied.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" Jack screamed.

"Oh, put her through torture, let her see your side of the past. And her screaming and crying was just getting so very annoying..." Satan held up a bloody knife.

Satan was quite lucky Jack didn't have his powers, because otherwise, Hell would suddenly look a lot more like Antarctica than the dark place it was. (And Satan wouldn't have lived past that moment.)

"And what else is fascinating," Satan grinned, enjoying torturing poor Jack, "is that you blamed _her_, for kidnapping Jamie. And so the last time you looked at her was when you glared with hatred. Too bad that will be that last time you'll see her. You blamed that fire girl for being keen enough to find your weakness, the ones close to you. Ha! You blamed her for hurting that pathetic little boy. When right now, he's in my darkest cages, crying out to a winter spirit that will never. Come."

"Augh!" Jack suddenly fell back, hands over his ears. Jamie's screaming echoed only in his mind, torturing it, taunting it.

_Jack! Jack? Are you coming?! Help me! **Help**! _

An image of Jamie appeared in his mind, shackles around his ankles and wrists. Jamie struggled against the blood-red chains, but he knew it was no use. But in his eyes a flash of hopelessness overcame him. "He's...he's not coming..."

"Jamie!" Jack screamed.

"You know what my chains do, right? Here's a hint; Pitch can tell you your worst nightmare, while I can make that nightmare as real as blood." Satan grinned down at the weakening boy.

A red shadow covered him, and Jack flinched, curling his knees to his chest.

"You know what Jamie's worst fear is? That he'll _die_ down there, in that cell. In that dark, _cold_, cell, with no hope, no dreams, no fun, no memories, and no _Jack_. And," Satan sighed, twisting a bloody in knife his hands, examining it, "tragic as it is, I may have to make that fear become reality."

Jack stood up shakily, hissing under his breath. "Over my dead body."

"If that's the way you want it." Satan shrugged, rushing towards him. Jack winced and awaited that pain that was soon given to him. Blood stained his hoodie as he fell over, hugging his wounded chest in agony.

Satan literally _licked_ the blood off his knife and sighed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have more people to torture."

* * *

Satan grinned. He could smell the blood, sweat, tears...he could almost feel the darkness and despair surrounding the boy. It had been three days the kid had had to drink blood to survive, and death was quickly closing in. Satan almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"You dying over there, little squirt?" Satan chuckled.

The weak boy glared at him, defensive buttons being pushed in him. "Go to hell, you freak."

"Oh, but I already am." The Devil of Darkness grinned. "You still think your Jack is coming? I'll tell you this right now, if he was, he would have already been here. Besides, I doubt he'll get up anytime soon. Just stabbed him in the chest." Satan admired his knife.

"You-you _what_?!" Jamie gasped, a bolt of energy and anger surging through him. "Y-you're, you're kidding!"

"Oh, no, I'm not. I bet you wish I was, huh?" Satan pointed towards the dying Jack in the distance, causing Jamie to flinch and react instantly. He screamed at the top of his lungs, probably hoping Satan would drop dead.

"Sheesh, kid, turn it down a notch." Satan held his ears as he walked out. "Better go check on my other prisoners."

"No, no, no! NOOOOOOOOOO!" Jamie hit the wall multiple times. When the small, temporary energy of anger left him, he laid on his knees, death coming faster than ever, while he witnessed what he could only imagine as a nightmare become reality.

There was one word that meant so much to that one boy, meant a brother to him. Meant a spinning world, a happy world, a frosted, chilly world. His forever Guardian.

Jamie managed to mutter that one word one last time as tears consistently fell from him.

"Jack."

* * *

"Where...where are we?" Invidia asked, unable to see in complete darkness. "Guys, are you awake?" She noted heaviness on her arms and legs, and after a moment of struggling, confirmed she was chained.

"Ugh...I feel like my head's about to explode." Blake muttered. "Anyone else awake?"

"I am, unfortunately. I'd rather be asleep than be in this pain." Monica groaned.

"Hang on a sec, guys." Pain said, trying to slip his hand through his shackles.

"Ugh...what the-? Are these chains?" Tooth suddenly cried.

"What the-?! Where'd all the lights go?!" Bunny exclaimed, fighting against the metal.

"Oh great. _Please_ don't tell me the Guardians are in here, too." Invidia complained.

"Augh!" North threw his fist forward, breaking chain.

A familiar Boogeyman got up, and looked clearly annoyed that he didn't have his powers anymore.

The dark cell suddenly dimly lightened up, due to Sandy being awake. He sent his sand whips towards the dark bars, thinking they were quite regular, but the moment the sand touched the black bars, it turned from sand to blood. Sandy shuddered, having seen this before. Pitch's fear turned dreams to nightmares, but Satan's darkness did nothing but kill it.

"I wouldn't touch the bars if I were you, Sandman." A dark voice chuckled from just outside the cage. "I've seen enough bloody messes today."

"'Messes'? What do you mean, 'messes'?" Tooth slipped her small hand through her chain with ease.

"Oh, dead bodies, mostly." Satan chuckled.

"'Dead bodies'? What the bloody hell is wrong with you?!" Bunny exclaimed.

"Oh, don't call it that. This place certainly is Hell, but it's not bloody, not quite yet." Satan grinned, leaning towards them. Tooth shuddered involuntarily.

Satan then snapped his fingers, and light appeared on the area- it all being a graveyard. "Ah, look, there's Jack, and that fire girl...T'was fun to murder them, I must say." He pointed to two graves.

All the ones in the cage looked visibly frozen with undeniable shock, fear, and disbelief. Tooth was the first to react, falling to her knees but not being able to make a sound. The others simply could not get their minds wrapped around the fact that Satan killed the two sprites, nor could they find the will to move, cry, or scream.

"Ha, your faces!" Satan chuckled. "Well now, I hope they didn't grow on you, because when someone dies, either A, the Man in the Moon makes them immortal, which they already were, so that's out question, or B, they go here. So the two spirits are being killed again, and again, and again, always coming right back to the same exact spot. So, chances are, you'll never see them again, unless of course, you die as well." Satan grinned. "Now, a few of you had someone in your past life that you simply just despised to your core. Well, guess where they ended up?" He waved a hand, and a hand rose up from a grave. Soon a whole body came up, surprisingly flawless.

"Blake!" A blonde-haired girl rushed at him, trying to break the bars. Her blue eyes sparkled, and her perfect figure, along with her loose white dress, caught the eyes of most of the men in the room, except the one she was calling out to.

"Shit." The King of Hate rushed to the back of the cave. He swallowed and chuckled nervously. "What is the Goddess of Love doing in Hell, of all places, I wonder?"

"Because of a certain someone I know." Aphrodite hissed.

"Um, you knew that was an accident, r-right?" Blake asked.

"You mean to tell me you accidently smacked a girl's ass and then kissed a different one?!" Aphrodite clawed at him from outside the cell.

"Y-Yeah, technically. I tripped and fell, and she had her back to me, and my hand fell...and the other one made the first move!" Blake held up both hands. "And then you went all insane..."

"Insane? That's too strong of a word. But ya know, I was a tad bit mad that my boyfriend had been cheating on me." Aphrodite folded her arms and stared into the distance, ignoring him.

"And then you proceeded to kill every girl in the city...?" Blake asked with a raised brow.

"Well- uh, yeah! They were competition! And if you weren't cheating, and it was an accident, what were you doing even hanging around girls?!"

"I can have friends, can I?"

"Not GIRL friends! Ugh, you're such a jerk." Aphrodite shook her head. Then she walked right through the bars as if they didn't exist, to Blake's horror. "And then, when I had killed all the girls you liked, you were the one to hold the gun to my head!"

"I-I...um..." Blake ran around, avoiding her.

"It doesn't matter, now, though, because now I can have you all to myself." Aphrodite laughed as she grabbed him and dragged him out of view.

"Well, who's next?" Satan chuckled. "Ooh, I know! Say hello to Jack O' Lantern!" He snapped his fingers again, and a boy with bright red, almost orange, hair, which was hidden under a pumpkin hat, walked out. He wore a bright green shirt with black pants and tennis shoes. A black cat hissed at his side.

Tooth shrieked. "Not you again!"

The muscular figured grinned, showing a small gap in his mouth, along with it being slightly yellow. "Hey, Fairy Lady." He voiced her given nickname. He then shoved a large handful of candy corn into his mouth.

"No, no! You'll ruin your teeth, and get cavities that'll send you in headaches!" Tooth exclaimed. "Are you insane?!"

He grinned a disgusting, toothy, mouth-filled grin at her in reply.

"Augh! Make it stop, make it stop!" Tooth couldn't get the ugly image out of her head. "Lanturn, I hate you!"

Lanturn grabbed her and yanked her in the same direction Aphrodite and Blake went, entirely out of sight.

"Well now. I'll have you know that Lanturn and Aphrodite are very vengeful, and your friends probably won't last much longer unless you hurry." Satan dipped his finger in the blood from Sandy's golden whips, and lightly touched every bar, and they basically disintegrated. Laughing, Satan disappeared.

Then a hill, which had four silhouettes on top, came into view.

"Up there!" Invidia began rushing towards it. Then, to her immediate horror, a zombie popped out of the ground right in front of her. She shrieked before punching it's head off, and the body fell limp. "Bastard." She muttered.

Donovan looked to a table with a bunch of guns on it. "Guys, I think I know what this is. It was a game I played at some kid's house."

"Oh, you mean when you stole that guy's xbox 360?" Monica asked.

"What? I didn't steal it...I just played it." Donovan said defensively.

"Sure, sure. So what do we do, Captain Pain?" Monica rolled her eyes.

"First off, everybody grab a gun." Donovan ordered. Once his command was obeyed, he grabbed his own gun. "Now load it." Everyone did so. "And now...we shoot zombies."

"You're kiddin', right, mate?" Bunny stared at him. "Fight zombies up a hill like a bunch of bloody show ponies?"

"Yup." Donovan chuckled.

_This is Satan's place, and Satan's rules. We have to play the game he wants us to play until we can defeat him and get out. _Sandy said.

"Right, so let's go kick some ass." Monica chuckled, and began shooting her gun at unlucky zombies.

Satan watched, chuckling. He made a small hole so he could see the moon still being swallowed by darkness. "Ah, today is a wonderful day to kill some bitches, wouldn't you say?" He glanced at it, grinning. "Oh, don't give me that look. You already know how this is going to play out. And you know your precious Guardians are going to be fine, so what's the worry? Aw, did you grow on that fire girl too? She seems to have that effect on people. Can't wait to see the look on their faces when she dies!" He chuckled, and then covered the hole to watch his audience fight for their lives.

* * *

"Ugh...what up, head? Why do you like hurting so much? You got a prob with me?" Amber muttered, smacking her forehead once, which only hurt her more. She wasn't wounded on anything except her head, where Satan had simply whacked her with a club, and the blood on the Devil's knife had been fake. "Where...where am I?" She jumped up, suddenly sensing that her brother needed her. She didn't know how she knew, but she could just feel it. And it sent her into panic mode. "Jack! Jack, where are you?! JACK!" She jumped up and shouted for him, even though pain rushed through her.

"A-Amber?" Jack tried to reply, but his voice wouldn't go much louder than a whisper.

"Jack!" She knelt down by him, and gasped when she saw his chest. "Jack, what happened?"

"Satan, is what happened." Jack chuckled weakly. "Never would have believed myself yesterday. Stuck in Hell with, apparently, my sister and Satan. Wonderful."

"You saw it too, huh?" Amber asked.

"Your side."

"Oh, so you saw the ugly side." Amber winced. "Wonderful...I missed you, big bro."

"I missed you too. That ugly freaking Devil said you were gone." Jack sighed and glanced once at his chest again. "Ugh, man it feels like my chest is burning. God, it hurts."

"Burning?" Amber repeated, looking at it.

"Yeah." Jack looked at the light in her eyes. "Why?"

"I think...I think I have an idea...but it will probably hurt...a lot."

"Will it help?"

"Yeah..."

"Then screw this shit and do it."

"Alright..." Amber sighed and took out both axes. She spun them around a moment. "Come on, please work, please work," she muttered, and then almost literally through her axes toward his chest. She made it stop just barely an inch from touching him, (which surprised the poor winter sprite because when she said it would hurt a lot he expected her to hit him) and the tiniest fire inched off the axes and into his chest. Jack took a sudden, shocked breath, and his wound closed up. He glanced at her, and grinned.

"It worked! I mean, I knew I could heal fire wounds, but since when would Satan attack you with fire?" Amber asked.

"He didn't. He used this ugly knife..."

"He used the Fire Dagger!" Amber grinned. "He took it from me a long, long time ago. I barely even remember that dagger..." She hugged her brother for the first time in three hundred years and sighed. "Come on, let's go find the others and get the hell out of Hell."

"Agreed."

* * *

"Hey Tooth," Lantern grinned, holding a handful of candy, "remember that day you literally strapped me down to a table and tried to do work on my teeth? Remember how much I screamed about how much it hurt?!"

"U-Um..." Tooth gasped, not taking her eyes off Lantern's disgusting candy.

"Well here's some pay back." He shoved the candy in her mouth, and held her nose and mouth shut. "Swallow it or you won't be able to breathe for a while."

Tooth absolutely hated the taste of the candy, but she chewed and swallowed, just in time to be given another hand full.

"Damn you, Halloween freak!" She muttered before more candy made it impossible to talk.

"Shut up, because when you're done eating candy you're gonna die!"

* * *

"Hey Blake, you in the mood to, I don't know..." Aphrodite held up a knife from behind her back and grinned evilly, "DIE?!"

"Shit, shit!"

"You see, Blake, if you die, your spirit has to stay in Hell with me forever. You know what that means?" Aphrodite lowered the knife to his neck. "That means you'll have to love me, and you can be the King of Love, not Hate!"

"Get away from me!" Blake struggled against her grip.

* * *

"Well. This is a scene." Amber chuckled. "Who should we help?"

"Everybody, I guess." Jack shrugged, and grabbed a gun and joined the others.

"Amber? Jack?" More than half of them turned around. "You're alive!"

"And the life of the party has returned!" Amber grinned. "Now let's kick some ass!"

* * *

They killed most of the zombies, while getting their scars from it, and rushed to save the two very unlucky pair from being killed by their opposites. Lantern and Aphrodite hissed and both disappeared into shadows, never to return. Tooth sighed and wiped the blood out from the corner of her mouth, as Lanturn had literally been planning on cutting out her very gums and teeth. Blake ripped off part of his shirt and put it on the deep, yet small cut in his neck.

"Now, all I need is some Satan ass to kick." Amber said. Although they didn't really mean to, they had formed something of a team-like circle. Amber in front, and to her left was Donovan and his family, and to her right was Jack and the Guardians.

"Ah, this, this is just cute." Satan chuckled. "I see you all won your little games. Now it's time for the big finale." He made a bunch of knives, and prepared to throw it at them.

"Wait!" Amber said. "Before we start, can we please get out of this damn Hell? We played your games, and we won, and it would be unfair if you fought to rule a planet if you're not even on it."

"Ha. I see. You all just want your powers back." Satan sighed. "Fair enough."

He touched the ground once and the reddish/black Hell world disappeared. In it's place was a dying Earth, losing the fight to survive, because it's Guardians and even old enemies were busy in Hell, when it was really just Satan stalling for more time.

Amber glared around at how the darkness on the moon was slowly overtaking the sky. A shadow covered the area. Kids ran inside in fear, and parents stared at it worriedly. Was the end of the world coming so soon?

"You little bitch." Invidia and Amber muttered in unison at Satan.

"You just wasted our time and pain to make others miserable!" Jack accused.

"Guilty as charged. And it worked perfectly." The Devil grinned.

A ball of fire was sent at him, due to Amber's rage, which reminded the others that they had their powers back. Satan disappeared into shadows for protection, but he seemed to forget exactly who ruled that bit of darkness.

"Going somewhere, Dad?" Pitch asked, glaring at him.

"Hm. I'm assuming you're a bit mad." Satan awaited what was due to him as multiple nightmares appeared.

"Well, you nearly killed one of my sons, and caged the rest of my family, and sent us all through Hell and back...yeah, I'm just a tad bit mad." Pitch hissed, punching his father in the face.

Satan recovered quickly, as he was at his strongest. Though the Guardians and even his own extended family were attacking him, it looked like it would be hard to fight him and even slightly succeed.

The ones that could fly, Amber, Jack, Sandy, and Tooth, were attacking Satan from the air, while the others were cornering Satan from all sides.

* * *

MiM looked on with a sad expression. They were out there, fighting for lives, for the sake of the world, while Manny was fighting for his. What they didn't know was that if MiM died, so did all the ones he brought back to life, as it was his magic that did so in the first place.

The Man in the Moon sighed and continued to fight his fight. It was simply darkness that was clouding his mind, threatening to overtake it. And he was sure no one would appreciate a black moon.

* * *

Baby Tooth:

The scene I woke up to was not pretty. It was ending. The world, the balance of life. Being burned before my eyes. Pitch...he was evil. He gave kids nightmares and scared them half to death. But killing...

_This is not Pitch's doing. This is something far, far, worse._

That's what really scared me.

* * *

Satan sighed for a moment. "Well, this was fun, but I gotta go torture a little kid to death and carry out my next plan! Ta ta!" He raised his hand to the sky, the darkness instantly yanking off the moon (to Manny's relief) and coming to him. He made a hole with it and disappeared into it, to the relief and slight annoyance of everyone in the room.

Silence as they all caught their breath.

"Anyone up for eggnog?" North finally asked. No one was, but they all nodded, deciding to crash at the North Pole.

* * *

Everyone went inside while Jack and Amber stood out in the snow, both staring off into the distance, the moon setting a serene blue lighting on the frosted landscape.

"You cold?" Jack asked.

"Well, yeah, I mean, we're at the North Pole." Amber chuckled.

"Well, um, there's not much I can do about it..." Jack cursed himself. Why couldn't they be the same element, at least?

"Actually, there is." Amber said, holding his hand. The mix of their elements combined for the perfect temperature of warm. So that's just about how they ended up sitting next to each other, legs touching, their hands intertwined.

"So, maybe there is a guy floating in the moon or something. And maybe he does resurrect dead people. But it still sounds absolutely insane to say it." Amber sighed, while Jack chuckled, and the moon brightened. After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "Sometimes I feel like such an idiot." Amber sighed. "Three hundred years, and I don't see you. And when I do...I think that you're just a painful reminder that there will be people like my Jack, but I'll never get him back again." She grinned at him. "Sometimes I hate fate, and sometimes I love it."

"I see what you mean." Jack chuckled. Then he sighed and shook his head. "How did you do it?"

"How'd I do what?"

"Live for three hundred years, alone, knowing that your family, and your life, was permanently scarred and ruined?"

"I didn't." Amber laughed. "I pretended I wasn't. I faked a laugh every day for people that didn't even believe in me."

"Amber, when I'm through with you, you will have a believer. At least one." Jack vowed. "Well, other than me of course."

"Knock it off, ya snowman."

"Why, flamethrower?"

"Is that a challenge I smell?" Amber laughed.

"Absolutely!" Jack threw a frosted snowball at her.

Amber suddenly grabbed it and squeezed it, causing it to warm up, but still stay solid, turning it a reddish orange, and then sent it back at him. Soon it was an all-out war of snow/fireballs.

Then they both laid in the snow, out of breath.

"Three hundred years we both spent alone, that we could've spent together." Jack shook his head.

"Well, at least now, after we defeat Satan, of course, we can spend the rest of eternity forever." Amber sighed. "It still won't be long enough for me."

"I'm surprised I didn't recognize you when I first saw you. You look similar to your younger self...and you certainly act like it. Always happy, always up for adventure. You've grown a bit more sarcastic and feisty, but you did spend three centuries alone."

"Did I just hear a complement come out of you, Jackson Overland Frost?" Amber grinned at him. "I'm surprised I just took it as coincidence. That you had the same hairstyle, same height, same face, same staff...I guess I'm just an idiot."

"Well, you're not the only one." Jack sighed. "I missed you, and I love you, Emma."

"Whoa, whoa, stop right there. Sorry hotshot, but we've been over this before-"

"Three hundred years ago." Jack corrected.

"Still, it's Amber, okay?" She sighed. "And I love you too."

* * *

Donovan sighed with anger as he watched Amber blubber on with the winter sprite. Invidia walked over to him and pinched him. "Stop stalking, you jerk."

"I'm, I'm not stalking..." Donovan stared after them.

"Oh, sure, and I eat hot pink butterflies for breakfast and fart rainbows." The Empress of Jealousy rolled her eyes.

Donovan tried not to laugh. "Sure, sure." He watched as Jack laughed about something lightly nudged her before going inside.

"Donovan." Invidia said, and the Ruler of Pain looked at his twin sister. "Go talk to her." Invidia then went inside.

Donovan sighed and walked over to Amber. "Seriously, is he your boyfriend now or something?"

"What? Who? Jack?" Amber suddenly cracked up. "Oh my god, no, you idiot, no."

"Then can you please give me a good reason why the fire girl is chillin' out with the ice boy? I don't think there is one."

"Hm, well, I don't know," Amber put a finger to her chin sarcastically, "maybe because he's my brother and I haven't seen him in three hundred years."

Donovan took in a small breath. "Oh..." He gaped. "_Oh_. ...I stand corrected."

"Ha!" Amber chuckled, grabbing the collar of his shirt and yanking him forward until their foreheads were touching. She playfully glanced up at him. "You sir, are hilarious."

"I try." Donovan said nervously, as she leaned forward, sweat running down his face, thinking of the last time he had been this close to her. Would Amber take yet another step to embarrass him? It seemed quite like her.

"No, no you don't. That's what makes it hilarious." She grinned. "And you still owe me."

"Oh brother. What do you want from me? I don't have much to give..." Donovan sighed.

"It's not what _you_ give _me_, it's what_ I_ give _you_." Amber replied, kissing him fully on the lips.

Donovan grinned and sighed. "Could you please try not to shock and astound me, for just one minute, please?"

"Haha! Nope." Amber replied, and kissed him again. Then they both turned to go inside, hand in hand.

* * *

Baby Tooth suddenly came flying down, instantly wanting to see Jack and Amber, and got to hear the story of how they were siblings, unlike the rest of the group, who the two elements thought they would surprise them with later.

Everyone soon came outside, staring at the moon.

"What do we do now?" Invidia asked. It was a strange pact for Pitch and his family to be working with the Guardians, but they could worry about miniature hating later, they had a world to save.

"We wait." Tooth said. "For Satan to come out and fight again. There's nothing we can do. Until then, we rest."

"I happily agree." Blake sighed. The others muttered their reply and went inside, knowing that fighting Satan could wait until tomorrow.

* * *

**I know what you're thinking. "What the hell, Aphrodite is insane!" I know, I know. I just needed someone to terrify Blake, and the Goddess of Love scaring the King of Hate seemed about right. And Lantern? Yeah, I know. It was rushed. Very rushed. I was trying to hurry and finish the chapter so I could satisfy you people.**

**However, I will have one very pointless chapter that you won't even need to read. It'll just be about Amber and Jack. That'll be one of my three attempts at making you cry. Just a warning. It will be my stall until I can get the ending done. I'd say we're gonna be done in another... three chapters. Possibly. Maybe one or two more. ;)**

**Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this, but I really like the name Donovan. Not sure why. Random thought.**

**-ihearthorses6000**


	7. Chapter 7: Purple Flame

**Hey guys. I'm back! Ready for more?**

**I got one small warning. By the end of this chapter you are going to be a: freaking out, b: hatin' on me or c: both. (Most probably c.)**

**So, enjoy!**

* * *

In a rush of anger, Satan hit a nearby rock, causing it to split in two. "Think, dammit! How to break them? How to break their fragile little hearts? How to spill so much blood they have to get on their knees and beg for nonexistant mercy?" He glanced up at Manny. "You know what's delicious, Man in the Moon? The fact that I could tell you my every plan, but you would only get to watch with horror as every person you ever cared for died before your eyes, while you could just watch helplessly and hopelessly. Yes, I'll tell you exactly what I'll do. I'll seperate them, make each captured ones wish they were dead, leave the others desperate, and then I'll murder that fire girl of yours." Satan let a smile grace his lips as he made a strange wheel with a bunch of names written in fresh blood on it. He spun it once, and it landed on the name, 'North'.

"Ah, yes, this ought to be fun." Satan chuckled, smearing the the blood on the 'N' across the rest of the name, and he disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

"Wow, this guy_ is_ tough! Damn die already, zombie lord!" Jack hissed, pressing the trigger on his gun/controller.

"Told ya this game was awesome." Donovan laughed.

"_Is_ awesome." Blake corrected.

"Crikey! These guys jus' come out from nowhere!" Bunny exclaimed. The four were playing on an XBOX, while Monica, Invidia, and Amber were watching, laughing about how they looked like idiots. Sandy was sleeping in a corner. Pitch watched them, munching on raw blackberries. (He had absolutely no clue what it was, as he had never really been fond of fruits, but he saw it was black and just ate it.)

"Guys, has anyone seen North?" Tooth asked. "He asked me to bring him a plateful of cookies to him in his office, but he's gone."

"I saw him go outside to go get more ice for his ice statue things." Invidia replied.

"Alright. Thanks." Tooth grinned at her before grabbing her plate of cookies and walking outside. Then she rushed back in, alarmed. "Satan took North!"

That got them all up quickly. "Aw, man! The zombie lord was almost dead, too!" Jack groaned and followed. "Maybe just one more hit...?"

"Get over here!" Invidia yanked him.

"Look!" Tooth pointed to the ground. A bloody knife was stabbed into the ground, a piece of paper under it. With disgust, Monica pulled it out and flung the knife away, and handed Jack the note.

"_'Gosh, that old man was slow. Strong, but slow. Too bad for him, back to Hell he goes! Anyhow, who will be next?' -The Devil_" Jack read aloud.

"Shit." Amber muttered. "I guess that means Satan's back."

* * *

"Let me out of here, ya dik!" (1) North screamed.

"Eh, shut up, old man." Satan muttered. "And by the way, I speak just about every language, including Russian."

"Then ee-dee nah hooy." North muttered. (2)

"Ostyn'." (3) Satan said in reply, rolling his eyes. "Let's see who will join you, eh?" He spun the bloody wheel again. "Oh, interesting." He chuckled. "A harder target. Very interesting." He rubbed his hands together. "I wonder if he likes reality TV."

* * *

"We have to get North back!"

"Screw that, Satan's after one of us!"

"Who cares? He's already _got_ one of us! North needs our help!"

"Guys, seriously?! You are all being freaking-"

"_Everybody stop yelling_!" Invidia silenced them all. "Just. Chill. Out."

"Alright. Let's just divide into groups and go looking for them." Jack said.

Soon they grouped in some way like this; Tooth went with Monica, Donovan, and Jack, and Blake teamed up with Amber, Sandy, and Pitch. Bunny stayed at the North Pole to keep an eye on it, in case North came back. (Much to his disappointment and annoyance.)

They split up and looked around for Satan, Amber's group heading west, Jack's heading east.

The sound of bones clanking together got Amber's team around an alleyway, to find a large army of skeletons, all holding a sword. Death and decay wreaked in the shadows. A silhouette of a familiar devil was behind them all.

"Hell yeah." Blake grinned. "Satan may be evil but he sure knows how to keep things interesting."

"True." Amber replied. "Now can we please kill these freaks?"

"Wait..." Pitch made his own army of Nightmares, and jumped on his personally favorite horse, Onyx. "Now we can."

Amber laughed and jumped on Blaze. Blake made a hover board out of black sand and followed them, while Sandy simply flew on his golden cloud.

Pitch grinned slightly. Although he never would have admitted it, having someone he feared on his side was simply awesome. "Let's go, Onyx." He muttered to his eager steed. They rode directly towards the large army of skeletons.

* * *

Jack stood back to back in a tight circle with Tooth, Monica, and Donovan. They were in some dark street, and, one by one, the street lights went out.

"Aw, isn't this just adorable?" A familiar dark voice chuckled. "Never seen such a more perfectly fit team, huh? Oh wait, you're missing one. I wonder where North went?"

"Come out and fight, ya son of a bitch." Jack hissed.

"Why? So I could kick your ass?" Satan chuckled, his laugh echoing around, yet body nowhere in sight. "I think it'd be more fun to watch your kick your own ass."

"Huh?"

Jack glanced down at his shadow, which seemed to be somehow twitching. Then it rose up as a perfect silhouette of the ice boy, and then rose it's fists. The others soon also were face to face with their shadows.

"Ah, now this ought to be fun. Watching the cutest, most pathetic team fight their own shadows- perfect illusions of themselves, with the same strategy, same fighting style, same strength, same weaknesses, yet entirely different sides. Now that I'd pay to see." A silhouette of the Devil sat down in the distance. "Now all that's missing is some popcorn..." He snapped his fingers and a bucket of the said snack appeared in his hands. "That's better."

"Bastard." Jack hissed under his breath before shooting ice at his own shadow. The said enemy did the exact same thing- except with black ice -and they both got shot. The Guardian of Fun asked upon a familiar wind spirit, and the shadow was knocked off his feet. The silhouette got up, having landed on his arm, holding the wound. Jack was doing the same, for some reason, bleeding in the same spot his shadow was.

"Oh, little fact I forgot to mention, any harm you do to your shadows will only inflict harm upon you." Satan said, before swallowing more popcorn. "So I wouldn't plan on killing them, if I were you."

The four winced, realizing that they were trapped, and because of their own shadows.

"Quite ingenious, is it not?" Satan asked, throwing away his empty popcorn bucket and snapping up some more. Then he saw that they were holding back from fighting. "What, afraid of your own shadow?"

"Damn you, Devil." Donovan muttered. Tooth held back, thinking that if she didn't attack her shadow she wouldn't get hurt. But her shadow rushed at her constantly.

"Another thing that makes your shadows different from you is they are, um, _slightly_ more aggressive." Satan called out. As he said this, Monica's shadow nearly took her head off.

* * *

"Ugh, these things keep coming!" The Ruler of Hate hissed.

Amber sighed, blowing her hair out of her face. "I bet I can kill more than you."

"I bet you're wrong." Blake grinned.

"You're on."

Then a thought came to our fire girl. Why kill all the minions, when they could be entirely lost without a master?

It may have just been an excuse to fly over the army and kick Satan's ass, but it was better than nothing.

"Guys, come quick!" Amber said suddenly, a strange tone in her voice. Her teammates rushed over, to find that their 'Satan' silhouette was just a fake with a pumpkin for a head.

"That is _so_ like him! Giving you a hard to get prize, that's entirely _fake_." Pitch groaned, kicking the pumpkin's head in half.

"That means..." Amber suddenly gasped.

Sandy finished her sentence. _He's after one of the other four._

"We have to go warn 'em!" Amber whirled around, but she and the others were too late.

* * *

Jack sighed with annoyance. How could he fight himself? It would attack the same way he would, and defend similarly as well. And every blow he gave the silhouette would only result in his own pain. He did the one thing that his other teammates were doing; staying on the defensive, dodging every attack, and adding in a flip or two. This caused them to spread out, which was exactly what the Devil of Darkness wanted.

Donovan's shadow suddenly turned into a very familiar Ruler of Hell, and the King of Pain turned around to see that the chair was now empty, and that the Devil before him wasn't a fake. Just as Donovan sent an ugly blow to Satan's stomach, therefore giving the King of Pain more power, Satan knocked him with a heavy club of some kind, and Donovan fell to the ground, the world spinning out of control before unconsciousness reached him.

* * *

"We got to do something, and we have to hurry! First Santa's gone, and now Donovan- ugh! I can't stand the thought of him in Hell..." Invidia said, entirely freaking out. She waved the two notes around, one with they got from North's disappearance, the other the one they found on the ground where Jack's team was, reading; _'And now I got the King of Pain, too! Knew it was going to be harder to get him, but it was **still **too easy! -Satan'_.

"Invidia, chill out, we have to-" Amber tried to calm him.

"No, I will _not_ 'chill out'! I'm sick of this! You acting like you're in charge, you freaking fire lady! You think just because you can control lava means you get to do whatever the hell you want?! You're not the captain here, sweetie!"

"Invidia!" Tooth gasped.

"Yeah, I said it, and I meant it. And it's about damn time, too." Invidia glared at her.

Amber pinched the bridge of her nose. "Invidia, look, I-"

"No, you shut up, I've heard enough from you. You're not in charge here, okay? So shut the hell up, you little bi-"

"DAMMIT, SHUT UP!" Amber shot fire towards her, and just stopped it inches from the suddenly silent Mistress of Jealousy. Amber took a deep breath and the fire then disappeared. "You had your say, not let me have mine. I know you're worried, but panicking and pointing fingers isn't going to solve any of that. We need to find out where he's going to strike next."

"There you go again. You just _love_ playing queen and slaves, don't you?" Invidia hissed, and turning to leave.

"Seriously? Look who's talking, you got some nerves!" Tooth growled at her.

"Everybody shut up!" Jack cried, annoyed.

"You're the one screaming." Blake muttered back.

"Oh, really?" Jack hissed at him.

"Everybody just needs to shut up!" Bunny growled.

"Hey, if they want to argue, let them freaking argue." Monica shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Miss I'm-Better-Than-Everyone-Else, but news flash, we need to figure this out without yelling."

"Oh, so it's my fault?!" Monica glared at him.

"No, no, that's not what I meant-"

"No, that's exactly what you meant! Seriously, what is up with you jerks?"

Soon, everyone had found some way to argue with someone else. The shouting got so loud that the yetis and elves froze in place and watched in confusion.

"You know what, screw this." Pitch muttered. "Monica, Blake, Invidia. Let's go."

"Gladly." Monica hissed, and they followed their father out.

Amber looked on for a moment, and sighed, being the only one who hadn't argued. "I...I gotta go." She flew out.

The Guardians sighed, now fewer in numbers, and much easier targets.

Satan grinned when he saw this, and threw away his little blood wheel. "Now for the fun part."

* * *

Amber sighed as she watched the Guardians and Black family separately plan to catch Satan. She wasn't stupid, and she could see that Satan just wanted them to split up.

Satan would take them all, one by one, and if they couldn't keep him away when they were together as a team, then separately, they were all simply doomed. Amber winced when she remembered Hell. They would all face that again if she didn't think of something soon, but what could she do?

A familiar voice hissed in her mind, "nothing."

"Ugh!" Although weak, Amber threw both of her axes at a tree, causing it to tip over. '_Again with this? Why can't my brain just work for me, just this once, when others need me?'_

Judging by growling behind her, Amber really shouldn't have thrown both axes at that tree, let alone one at all. Unarmed, Amber prepared to make a fire, but she was at the Arctic, and she had been weak from the previous battle. To so much as to stand was difficult for her.

Amber turned around slowly to see a pack of growling Arctic wolves, mouths open, full of razor teeth, claws like knives. She then glanced at her axes, deeply wedged in the tree.

"Well...shit."

Her first instinct, as the biggest wolf attacked her, was to turn around and run. But they were freaking wolves, and were no doubt faster than her. Plus, she could barely walk. Her second instinct was more solid, more secure, but the thing was, she had no idea what it was.

She held up both hands, and closed her eyes, and waited for the wolf to attack. To her shock, the only thing that happened was the very pitiful sound of a dog whimpering in pain. When she opened she eyes, she saw that she was holding a small fire, and the Arctic wolf was turning black on his paws and tail. It then grew to his legs, which became useless as he fell to the ground, crying out to the pack, who were cowering in fear.

"_'Everyone has a fire.'" _Her own voice and words came back to her in memory._ "'Without it, you're not...**you**.'_"

"And if you're not you, you're dead." Amber muttered. She watched for a moment as the darkness went from the wolf's legs to his chest, and his breathing stopped. The wolf looked to Amber with obvious alarm. Unable to take the whimpering any longer, Amber put the fire back into the wolf's chest. Instantly, the darkness disappeared, and the wolf weakly got up and howled to the others, and they all trotted away.

_'Man I'm tired. Better not do that too often. Now to get my axes...'_ Amber thought. She took one step towards the fallen tree, but then fell over, weak. _'Okay, I'm really,** really** tired.'_

To keep her eyes open soon became a battle she wasn't willing to fight, so she surrendered to the quickly coming sleep.

* * *

"Amber? Amber!" Jack shook his sister.

The fire girl awoke, glad to see her sibling, but worry was written clearly across his face. "Jack?"

"Satan took them." He gasped, out of breath. "All of them. Pitch, Bunny, Tooth, Monica- _everybody_! And-and I tried to help, but he knocked me out cold, and they're gone. I thought he had taken you, too, and I couldn't find you, and I just panicked, and-" He let out a shaky breath, and then ran a hand through his hair, glaring at the ground. "I can't believe this! Freaking all of them, dragging them all back to Hell-" he sighed, "first Jamie, and now this? What's next, Jack? The end of the world?"

"Precisely." A menacing voice replied in the distance. Satan then laughed like a madman before disappearing into Hell again.

"Don't worry, Jack. He's just trying to screw with your head." Amber said, getting up.

"He knew we would fight, so he took someone from both sides and then waited." Jack sighed, working it out through his head. "And you knew, huh?"

"Yeah." Amber sighed. "Now, are you in the mood to kick some Devil ass?"

"Hell yeah."

"Then what the shit are we sittin' around for?" Amber asked. Jack chuckled and they both flew into the sky.

They stopped short when they saw the fiery black portal. Satan slowly came out from it, grinning. "Aw, now this, this is just adorable. Everyone else screaming in Hell for the two who are about to join them. Meanwhile, the two long lost siblings fight for their very lives, along with their friend's...and the rest of the world."

"Damn you, Devil. You have no clue how much I hate you." Amber hissed.

"Oh, I know I don't. Your rage just holds no bounds. It's a mystery how you even survived hating yourself for three hundred years."

"Ha! Survive? I died a million times and just got back up and kicked ass. Want me to demonstrate?" Amber asked, grinning.

"Oh, no, please, allow _me_!" Satan hissed, launching shadows at her.

Amber dodged them and sent some fire in return. To her shock, Satan grabbed her fire, turned it black, and sent it flying back at her. Jack stopped it with his ice, and the two soon both attacked Satan. Satan's strength versus Amber and Jack as a perfect team was quite a battle to witness, not to mention it was the battle for the world.

Amber shot multiple blasts at the Devil, distracting the said Creature of Darkness from noticing that Jack was building up a huge blast of ice. Jack sent it flying at him, and Amber's fire surrounded Satan at all sides, so the Devil could only hiss with annoyance as the large ice blast reached him. Satan quickly recovered by rubbing his forehead once and spitting out blood on the ground. This left him distracted for only a fraction of a moment, but the two elements took advantage of it by Amber and Jack going back to back and locking arms, and then they both ran towards Satan, and Jack lifted up Amber just enough so she could kick Satan's squarely in the face multiple times.

Satan fell back, hissing. "Damn you siblings."

"Damn us? You're the one who nearly killed more than nine people, on purpose, sent them all to Hell, played with their minds, and when you got out you captured them again." Amber rolled her eyes. "You're just a bastard."

Satan grinned, succeeding at distracting her and giving himself time to recover. He sent one of his strongest blasts of darkness at them, sending them back behind a wall. The shadows still remained on them, leaving them stuck and trapped.

"Well, this was fun and all," Satan sighed, "but seriously, it's getting annoying killing you guys a thousand times. Just die already. Who should be first, though, I wonder?" He glanced at the two struggling immortals. "I don't know...who do I hate more...?" He looked at Amber. "Hmm. Well, that would probably be a fire girl...so why not torture her and kill her brother first, eh?" Satan made a shadow knife out of nowhere, and flung it mercilessly towards the said winter sprite.

"Wait!" Amber called out at the last second.

Satan sighed and rolled his eyes at her. "I'm a little busy at the moment..."

"Dude, just wait a minute, hear me out, at least just let me talk to my brother one last time." Amber began turning towards her sibling. Satan leaned towards her slightly, clearly annoyed. It was his mistake, however, because she kicked him between the legs and then used a familiar warm wind spirit to burst out from the top of her shadow restraints. She then quickly and easily freed her brother before turning back to the very pissed of Devil.

"That was awesome, by the way." Jack said.

"Thank you, I try, I try." Amber grinned and did a tiny bow. "It's a good thing he leaned close enough for me to kick him, because I had absolutely no clue what I was going to say."

Jack just laughed before attacking Satan again. The battle began moving too fast for the eye to see anything but a bunch of blurs and fire, ice, and shadow balls.

While the fight for the world was continuing, a fight in a different dimension was also playing out.

* * *

"I almost got it!" Invidia announced, picking a large lock. She, Tooth, and Monica had barely been thin enough to fit through the bars of their cell. "Come on, come on...got it!" She swung the door open. "Let's go!"

They walked around towards where they had seen Satan come in and out, and found it very quiet, eerily quiet.

"HANDS IN THE AIR!" Someone shouted. Without powers, and without weapons, the mix of Guardians and Black family could only do as they were told. At least a hundred men suddenly walked out, all holding some kind of gun.

"Say 'yudiseruizaeris'." Commanded one of them through a black bandanna with a skull on it. He had brown hair and piercing blue eyes, which were suspiciously glaring at them.

"Say yudiwhatwhata?" Donovan repeated.

"'Yudiseruizaeris'." The man repeated.

"Yudiser...dude, why do you want us to say a freaking made up word we can't even pronounce?" Monica asked.

"They're not zombies!" The man called back and they all lowered their weapons.

"You-you thought we were zombies?" Invidia gave them a weird look. "Does this body look like a zombie to you?"

"Well, apparently, the zombies running through Hell have figured out how to make themselves look human." He replied. "But, about you, however, no, I was sure you weren't a zombie, because no freaking walking dead creature could've perfected a look like that." He motioned towards Invidia.

"Damn right." Invidia said, grinning smugly.

"Invidia, her flirty ways, and a thousand guys following her." Monica rolled her eyes.

"I smell jealousy." Invidia chuckled.

A man suddenly walked up to them, no expression on his face. He moaned quietly, something like 'yudiseruizaeris'.

The moment the brown-haired man heard it, he shot the man with his pistol, and it dropped dead, yet no blood came out from the hole in his head. The man blew off his gun and threw it in his belt, much to Invidia's amusement.

"Why do they say that?" Donovan asked.

"No clue. Some think it's because that one weird word makes their whole language." The brown-haired man replied. "Quick, let's get out of here before more of them come."

They went to a huge warehouse, locked up tight and heavily guarded. The man gave them each a gun to use.

"Oh, what the heck is wrong with me? I'm Loid, by the way." Loid shook their hands as they introduced themselves. He then explained that when Satan made even just one or two zombies, they quickly spread like a virus. Loid and his friends were prisoners from the real world, but were now being held in Hell, and had been constantly fighting zombies.

"Is there any way out of here?" Blake asked.

"Yes, but it's straight through the zombie's main lair." Loid replied.

"Then what the hell are we waiting for? We can all get out of here, right now!" Invidia grinned. "Come on, suckers, let's go shoot these undead freaks."

"Man, that is hot." Loid muttered, much to Donovan's and Blake's annoyance.

Some of the zombies looked normal, but most were disturbingly ugly. Flesh, bones, and disfigured undead monsters were everywhere in sight as they shot at them. The thing about zombies is they were basically already dead, how to kill them again?

"Yuck." Monica muttered, kicking away someone's intestines. "I feel like I'm in a horror movie." It smelled like a horror movie, that and ten times worse.

"That's Hell for ya, sweetie." Invidia said, grinning at her sister.

"Why do zombies not die?!" North groaned, shooting a zombie for the twelfth time, it's head nearly all the way off, as well as missing half an arm.

"Because they're already dead." Loid replied with a roll of his eyes. "Don't you watch the movies?"

Tooth suddenly grinned. "I have an idea! Loid, do you guys have dynamite, by any chance?"

"Now _that_ is an idea." Loid replied, and rushed back to the warehouse, coming back with large crates of explosives. He planted them at the center of the zombie lair, and then ran out. Everyone ducked before they heard the explosion.

"Oh my god! I'm gonna throw up!" Pitch covered his mouth and nose, as everyone else did. The smell of smoke, death, decay, blood, and flesh reached them. And Hell now looked like quite the blood bath.

"My eyes, my eyes!" Tooth looked away from the bloody mess.

Invidia stared at it, wincing. "Now we're really in a horror movie."

"Uh, no, we're in something much, much worse. Called Hell." Monica muttered. "At least the zombies are somewhat dead." She kicked a moving arm.

They all rushed into the black fiery portal before them, unfortunately having to walk through the bloody mess first.

* * *

"Whoa! Hey guys, what'd we miss?" Invidia asked, grinning. The rest of the Guardians plus the Black family rushed out of Hell, much to Satan's annoyance.

"Eh, ya know, fightin' Satan, nearly gettin' killed a few times." Amber replied. "You?"

"Exploding disgusting zombies to get out of Hell."

"Sweet." Amber grinned. "Care to join us?"

"Totally." Donovan laughed.

Sandy twirled a handful of sand around a moment. _Let's get this party started._

Within seconds, Satan was being attacked by just about every element he could name. But the Devil wasn't done, not quite yet. He flipped backwards a few times, avoiding attacks, and when he landed he sent out a large wave of something that resembled blood. Everyone but Satan was sent backwards, knocking into something. The red then tightened around them like unbreakable rope. Jack and Amber were the first to break through, however.

An idea then sparked in the fire girl, and she grinned towards her brother.

"Jack, when mixing paint, what do red and blue make?" Amber asked.

"Um, purple, why?" The winter sprite sent her a confused look.

"Two words. _Purple_._ Flame_."

"Oh, I see. On three?" Jack asked.

"On three."

"Three!" They both exclaimed at the same time, shooting their elements not at Satan, but at each other. In the middle, it mixed, turning to a distinct purple flame.

"Hey Jack, what's dead, ugly, black, and red?" Amber asked.

"I don't know, what?"

"I'll tell you in five seconds." Amber replied, and they both shot their purple fire towards the Devil.

* * *

Twenty five thousand years. Satan had spent far too long in the shadows, in his own land. To take over earth would be paradise for him, to rule over something huge, to prove he was more dangerous than he seemed. Satan had existed at the dawn of time, and when he was sent down to Hell, he planned to end it all. He was the beginning, and he was the end. He wanted to rule over everything. And thanks to a very annoying team, his plan was so far failing.

I guess every bad guy has his 'oh shit' moment. Satan's was when that gigantic purple fire was rushing towards him mercilessly. Satan had killed so many souls, and tortured the rest. Would he finally get what he deserved?

* * *

Well, the Devil wasn't used to pain very much, because he was stronger than most, but that one purple flame attack could probably level an army of a thousand men, plus a building or two. So Satan was in enough pain to feel like he was dying at the moment. Half-dead, and black blood everywhere, he got up, hissing. If he was going down, though, he was taking someone with him.

So he shot more blood red shadows at Jack, causing him to fall backwards and get stuck to a wall. This was probably the Devil of Darkness's best move at the moment, because without Jack, Amber couldn't make that purple flame thing again.

"Jack, guys, you okay?" Amber turned towards them a moment, but that was her mistake, as Satan sent the darkest ball of shadows he could conquer up her way.

"Ugh. Thank you, for the lovely package, Satan. Let me just open it up..." Amber pretended to open an invisible box. "Oh, looky here! Pain! What an awesome present."

Satan chuckled slightly. "You guys and your so very annoying senses of humor. Oh, am I seeing things? No, I'm not! Whaddya know, Amber left alone, with no one to fight beside her, _again_. Gee, I almost feel bad for you. But not quite, I think I hate you too much for that."

"Ugh. If you had any clue how much I absolutely despise you..." Amber shook her head.

"I have a few ideas." Satan chuckled, rushing at her and holding a familiar knife to her neck. It had an amber-colored jewel on it, and this caused our fire girl to grin.

"I see you still have the Fire Dagger." Amber said.

"Indeed, one of my favorite blades. I can see why you liked it so much." Satan chuckled.

Distracted, Amber was able to kick the blade out of his hands and somewhere miles in the distance.

"Ugh, you annoying bitch." Satan growled, before preparing to attack her again.

* * *

Amber was dying. Clearly, quickly dying. To so much as make a spark of fire would send her into unconsciousness. The fire girl looked at the moon a moment, and sighed. There was one thing left that she could do, but it wouldn't end well. Looking at MiM, though, Amber knew that she would have to. But she alone wouldn't make it.

She sighed. Better her than the whole world. Besides, she had wanted to die for three hundred years, but of course, the moment she actually had a reason to live, she would have to die for the world.

_Eh, oh well._ She sighed. "Hey, Satan, I have a little quiz for you. What happens when you combine two fires?"

"They destroy each other..." The Devil replied, confused.

"Congrats, you now know how you're gonna die." She grinned weakly. "Or, more specifically, how _we_ are going to die."

Satan's eyes grew wide. "You're insane!"

"A little bit." Amber chuckled, literally taking out her fire. She instantly felt the darkness creeping in, so she would have to make it quick. She also took out Satan's fire, to his horror. His feet became useless as the blackness overcame them. Amber made the black and amber fire combine, and both disappeared the moment they touched. Satan cried out in agony, clutching his chest. His own darkness overcame him and he disappeared through his fiery black portal.

Amber had no strength to move, so she just collapsed to the ground, grinning the smallest, saddest smile she ever had.

"Amber?!" Jack rushed over in shock, finally having broken free from the annoying red shadows, as did the others. The ice boy held her in his arms, freaking out. "What the hell was that?!"

"I haven't the slightest idea." Amber grinned wider. "But I think it had something to do with that 'key' and 'center of the earth' crap. It was a riddle, and the 'core' really meant inside of everyone, because, like I said before, everyone has a fire. The 'key' was me. It had nothing to do with Pitch, it was about saving the world." Amber sighed. "So annoying as hell. Can't those damn Nightmares be a little more specific?"

Then she grinned at her brother. "Oh, and Jack, remember that one time you bet me that I couldn't beat that challenge? Well, I did, and you still owe me. So, for a day, you have to run around with a tutu, sombrero, and a coconut bra like thingy, and when you talk you have to sing, and when you move you have to do ballet. And THEN, at every meal you have to announce, 'I eat butterflies, and fart rainbows!'"

"That is goin' to be the best day ever." Bunny chuckled. Everyone else was grinning sadly.

"I know, right? Damn, I wish I could be there to see it..." Amber let out a shaky breath.

"Damn you, Amber, don't say that." Jack said, frozen tears falling from him.

"Don't be getting all sappy on me now, freaking popsicle." Amber wiped away one of the tears.

"Whatever you say, flamethrower."

Amber sighed. "Well, that was fun, saving the world and all. Kickin' Satan's ass. And then looking like a total hero. At least I'm not that pathetic, weak, annoying little girl anymore, huh?"

"You never were that pathetic girl, Emma." Jack replied.

"Jack, it's Amber. Okay?!" Amber sighed, wishing she had the strength to slap him. She looked up to the moon.

_You ready?_ Manny asked her.

Amber grinned slightly. _Yes._ The fire girl looked to her brother as the world began to disappear from view, forever. "I love you, big bro."

Jack opened his mouth to reply the same, but Amber never heard it, as she was already gone.

* * *

**Okay, so remember how in the beginning, when Satan, Jack, and Amber first started fighting, Satan stopped one of the fire girl's fireballs and turned it black? THAT'S why Amber didn't just take out Satan's fire, because his was black, filled with darkness, so the Devil could've easily just gotten his fire back. But, if she destroyed them both, then he couldn't, and he would be bound to Hell forever, never able to leave it. (Note how the portals always had a black fire. That's why he couldn't leave Hell, it was his substitute for his fire.)**

**(1) Dik is Russian for 'dick'.**

**(2) Ee-dee nah hooy is Russian for 'fuck you'.**

**(3) Ostyn' is Russian for 'chill out'. (I know, stupid response, couldn't come up with anything else. :P)**

**So, friends of mine read this, and they said the dialogue was awesome, but that I could use some more detail. And thus that horrible zombie scene in Hell came to pass. That enough detail for you? Or do you want more? Not sure if I can do more without making myself throw up...**

**By the way, thank you to my aunt and mom for epic ideas. They both seriously deserve a lot of credit.**

**I warned you. Do ya hate me now? Don't ya worry, it's not over yet! (And no, it will not be totally boring!) Two more chapters, maybe three!**

**So, guys, do ya hate me?**

**Amber: Are you kidding? You made me murder nine people, nearly kill four who were about to lose their dad, nearly kill my own brother, made me not remember him, and THEN, you made me die at the end! YOU MAKE MY LIFE MISERABLE!**

**Then I've done my job. Jamie, I'm guessing you feel the same?**

**Jamie: Well, you did basically kill Jack in front of my eyes.**

**Uh huh. Yeah. Sorry about that...**

**Jack: And then you sent us through Hell and back, literally.**

**Donovan: TWICE!**

**That's true... But I have a plan that will make everybody happy.**

**Amber: It better be good, lady.**

**Oh, it will, it will. *Laughs like a maniac.***

**Till next time!**

**-ihearthorses6000**


	8. Chapter 8: Last Moment Laugh

Invidia:

* * *

The first time I met Amber wasn't at that volcano. It was probably a decade or two after Amber became immortal, if I did my math right. She was in a flower field, burning the lovely daisies and sunflowers around her, her eyes distant.

The jealousy I smelled was coming off of her, I was sure of it. But she was glaring at flowers. It didn't make any sense. How could anyone be jealous of those things?

Then, like usual when someone's envious, I got hear the thoughts that made them jealous.

_Damn flowers. I hope you like dying. Freaking enjoy it..._

_Because I can't._

_You know what it's like, being me? It's like being stabbed a thousand times, and then just left to bleed, yet never dying._

She picked up a rose and watched it wilt and die as she slowly burned it._ Just sitting there with all that ridiculously horrible pain, and not being able to do a thing about it. And then the blood acts like poison, killing everyone and everything in sight._

_I'm a prisoner to my pain, but you, you just get to die..._

She just wanted to die. She had wanted that for three hundred years. Suicide was out of the option, so she sat in her pain all those years. And when she did die, she was happy, because she had a family around her, she had a group of people she knew would cry for her. She finally had someone that would cry, other than herself.

Normally I would go towards jealousy, after all, it made me powerful, but this was a different kind of envy, a different kind of pain, and it hurt to realize it. So instead of going up to meet that fire girl, I turned around and ran.

* * *

Monica:

Misery was always part of life. Something that was just...there. It wasn't always the happiest, but it was there, and it always will be. It made me stronger, so of course I hunted for it, but...Amber...she was different. I don't think I had ever felt so strong than when I sat beside her.

When you're the Queen of Misery, you get to see why or how someone is miserable, even if it's just in flashes. And, seeing Amber's, heaven knows how she lived with herself.

It was a blur. A village on fire, her in raging tears, her brother falling through the ice...It all left a large scar on her that she could never heal. A wound that would always bleed. She grew from kind and loving to wild and reserved. And though it changed her, she was a ghost of her former self. With the help of Jack, she learned to let go of the anger again, of her despair.

And as she smiled for the last time, her misery finally left her, as it couldn't fight her love anymore.

* * *

Blake:

Staring at the burning forest in CA, as first signs of the sunrise began to show, the flames seemed to dance around with hate, playing with it like despair was a toy. So much raw bitterness caught me by surprise, but this was not the first time I had seen so much rage in a fire.

I didn't know it was Amber, but I knew that whoever set that fire hated someone more than anything else. So when I met Amber, my first impression was that she would be an angry control freak. But I was very wrong.

Her anger was the one thing she tried to keep under lock down at all times. Yet her humor and joy were a different story. Her humor was something she could never lock up, but her joy was faded and different, as it had been crushed and burned multiple times. Yet she willed it to grow, even though she was sure she would be letting her hopes up, only for them to come crashing down on her.

But she let go of it. Of her rage, of her hate. She gave it wings and willed it to fly. To leave her. She held onto it for three hundred years. And when she finally did let go, she did what she felt right.

_Unfortunately_, that got her killed.

* * *

Donovan:

I once was ashamed to be the King of Pain. It was mostly because there's more than one kind of pain. There are two; mental and physical. Physical was just an everyday kind of thing, kids fall down and get hurt, but they got back up. However, mental pain was slightly more rare and was worse, in certain cases. Because mental pain often leads to physical pain. (People cutting themselves, suicide, etc) Mental pain was the one pain that I tried to avoid, because it made me feel guilty, but it was everywhere. When I first saw Amber, and I had to team with her, I knew that avoiding it would be impossible.

But instead of wanting to leave her, I was drawn to that fire girl. Amber took her pain and turned it into humor. She took the darkest of days and made it her brightest. She wouldn't let the darkness of her thoughts drag her down.

And, as I watched Amber take her last breath, I realized that is what had made me fall in love with her. She caught the eye, and the laugh, of everyone around her. She brightened the room she stood in. (Literally.) And the pain Amber usually took with her traveled to the rest of us as the silence lingered. I couldn't read their minds, (other than my siblings', of course,) but I knew that all our thoughts somehow revolved around our now dead fire girl.

I winced and tried to ignore the burning in my eyes.

* * *

Pitch:

Amber had been...different, in a way. Her fears always seemed to be more about the ones around her, and less about herself. Less about what she feared, and more of what could happen to_ us_.

She was _very_ different, actually. I was shocked, by how she laughed, by how she smiled, in her last moments. She swallowed down her fear and let a smile grace her lips as she died.

I remembered Amber and Jack when they were younger. They were watching the sunset, and, upon hearing my name, I inched closer...but the love they had for each other repelled me so strongly I honestly thought it would kill me to stay another second by the two siblings.

That love reflected in Amber's eyes as she looked at her brother. Then her eyes fluttered closed for the last time...

I grinned a sad grin and shook my head. That fire girl hooked herself to people. She made herself a part of them, and when she left us, she took a piece of us with her.

...Love is a lot stronger than I thought.

* * *

North:

Her wonder had been pushed away, cast off, when her life became a nightmare. Yet she stood strong, fought back, and told herself she could win, and didn't let anyone else tell her otherwise. Amber did things no one else would, and stood up bravely. She saved the world, and now she won't be able to see the millions and millions of kids that will get to live because of her.

She...she should've been a Guardian...

The Guardian of love...of courage...of strength...

But she can't now.

I sighed. Why does life have to be so cruel?

* * *

Bunny:

I had met that fire girl before. It had been on that Easter after 68, while I was cleanin' up the mess that bloody show pony had made, durin' that gigantic blizzard. I had been expectin' Jack to show up and ruin Easter again, but instead of ice marks that Easter I got fire scars.

"Ha ha! Hilarious." A cheery voice chuckled, and I whirled around to see one of my buggers on fire, running around in circles before it crashed into the colorful river, and came out dyed red.

"Hey! What the bloody hell..." I muttered.

"That was awesome." A bright redhead grinned at me. "Hey, what's up with the pout face, baby rabbit? You gotta admit, that was funny."

"Ugh, you see what you did?!" I growled, watching as all the others eggs panicked, running away.

"Oh, yes, I see, entirely." Amber chuckled. "And _that's_ why you don't play with fire!" She called after the retreating eggs. She then laughed at the look on my face, which she seemed to think was priceless, and then left.

The thing about Amber is that it was impossible not to laugh or smile around her, she tried so hard to make everyone else happy...yet never offered any explanation why.

But of course, I still have a theory. She may have just hated being so unhappy that she wanted no one to have to know what she had gone through, but of course, that's just an idea. I could be way off...but I guess now, I'll never know.

* * *

Sandy:

Amber's dreams had been crushed. I knew it when I first saw her. Yet she continued to chase her new ones with courage, and when she saw her brother holding her as life faded from her, she had found her dreams. To see her brother one last time...and to go out with a 'kaboom'.

Her only dream now was to be remembered. And that dream she achieved as we all slowly turned around, the yetis carrying her. At the pole, we all mourned, but I don't think I had ever felt so struck down before. Not when I fell from the sky in the form of a star, not when I was sure the world was about to end, not when I was about to die, not when I was technically already dead.

Amber had a way of accomplishing her dreams that just made me miss her. She never let go of dreams, even when her brother died, and she became a hopeless, helpless mess. She always fought back. She didn't give in to despair like many others had, and no one had succeeded in places that were half as bad as were she had gone. Her mind was her hell, but she fought through it.

_Man, I'm going to miss that girl._

* * *

Tooth:

Memories can be happy, and pure, and beautiful, and they can be wretched, regretful, and ugly. Amber had started out as a normal girl, but I was all too curious to see how exactly how and when her life became so twisted.

So it was really, really wrong of me to peek at her memories, but... Fine, fine, I got no excuse. The only way for anyone to look at someone else's memories was to take one of the teeth out and put it in a crystal-like cylinder, as there was a small hole for the teeth to go. I put it there and watched as Amber's happy life unfolded, spending almost every day with her brother, laughing, and enjoying the memories and joys of that time. And then her brother fell through the lake, and everything changed. Amber was the one who changed the most.

It broke her, to watch hopelessly as her brother died. To know that she would never see him again, and not being able to do a thing about it. It broke her to live without him. She refused to. A world without Jack wasn't a spinning world. It was a wrong world, and she had to live in it for three hundred years.

And she died happy, she died with friends and family around her. And she knew it.

I sighed and put Amber's teeth away, (which, I must say, were actually not as bad as I thought they would be,) wishing that things could have gone differently. At least, now, she'll always be with us in memory.

* * *

Jack:

Everyone else was clearly thinking about Amber, about the times they had and things they did. About what she was like. But I could not, for the life of me, get my mind wrapped around the fact that my sister was gone.

_Dammit, she's gone!_

A blizzard began to form around me, and the others shivered and one by one, they went inside North's workshop.

_Amber's...Amber's gone...How can she be?_

_How did she do it? How did she live so long alone...while knowing I was gone?_

_Will I be able to do the same...?_

"Ugh!" In a rush of anger, I took in all the cold around me that I could, and shot it at a large tree. The tree moaned in resistance before toppling over. I sat back down and let the tears come back, as they were becoming impossible to hide.

_Damn, my sister's dead!_

A full moon slowly let it's blue rays caress my face in a comforting manner. "_Leave me alone_!" I screamed at MiM. "D-Did you comfort her? When she thought I was gone? I know, I know she didn't believe in you, but-...Where _were_ you, when she needed you?" I sighed. "Where was _I_...?"

I let a few more tears fall, but then an urge sparked in me. I just had to tell someone about it...I had to let them know. _They have to know who saved their lives today._

* * *

"Jack...what is it?" Claude asked. They all stood outside on the grass in the shade.

The winter sprite sighed, not sure how he was going to tell his sister's story without A; terrifying them, B; crying or C; both. "I need to tell you about someone. Her name's Amber Spark."

* * *

**I know, I know what you're thinking. SHORTEST. CHAPTER. EVER.**

**Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I guess I could've made it longer...but I'm too lazy. Besides, it's the ending, it's going to be shorter. Anyway, just two more chapters! I can't believe it's ending so soon...but then again, it's exciting! So, yeah...**

**Cya next time!**

**-ihearthorses6000**


	9. Chapter 9: Despair

**Wow. ANOTHER 2,000 word chapter. Really, iheart, really?!**

**So. Yeah. Most of this is just Jack thinking of Amber, while thinking if his broken heart will ever mend. Jack, I am so, so, so, so sorry I have to put you through this.**

**Jack: I would say 'It's okay', but it's uh, not.**

**Yeah, I know. Good news; your sister will be brought back into the picture next chapter!**

**Jack: ...You're kidding.**

**No, I'm not.**

**Jack: Dude, I just watched her freaking die in my freaking arms.**

**Don't ya worry! She WILL RETURN FROM DA DEAD! EEK, it's gonna be so awesome! I'm planning on her not remembering you or something...**

**Jack: WHAT?!**

**Jus' kiddin'! No, no, Jack, I was seriously kidding! Jack, no, dude, put the staff down- No, don't freeze me- _DON'T-!_ *Zap***

* * *

Pippa:

I listened to every word Jack said, every mesmerizing moment of his tale, and at first I thought maybe it was just a story, but then I heard the emotion in his voice, and saw the tears in his eyes. He soon told of how it was his sister, and of how she died.

It was strange, trying to comfort the winter spirit when he needed us, since normally he was the one helping us. But most of us 'Believers', including myself, ended up crying with our Guardian.

After a long moment, he sucked in a hesitant breath, and it came out as a shaky sigh. "I have to go now. Bye guys." For the first time since Jack had found Jamie, the two stopped making contact in some way. And with that, Jack flew off, heading north.

"I'm sorry, Jack." Jamie muttered. Yeah, Jack had found him by some portal of some sort, my best friend said. He had told a small amount of the horrors he had faced, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't like reliving it, and that we really didn't want to hear it.

I sighed. I wished I could've had some kind of relationship with someone like Jack and Jamie did. They were sure to be friends for the rest of their lives, just like we were, but Jack was different. Jack was a Guardian, a protector, an ally, an always-reliable friend. I had always wanted a Guardian of my own...

But, as we all turned to go inside and get hot chocolate, my mind turned to Jack's sister, Amber. If she really did die in his arms...

Man, do I feel bad for Jack...

* * *

{Past}

Amber grabbed a roll and chugged down a bottle of water, and then grabbed her roller skates and left their small, cozy cottage for a house, straight towards a large field, where there was a trail leading from place to place.

Amber grinned at the sight. The sun shone in her face, and she wouldn't be surprised if she had a sunburn so bad that it lasted for a month, but she knew it would be worth it.

"Ready?" Jack asked, holding up his own roller skates.

"Ready!" Amber laughed.

"Let's go!" Her brother announced, and they both took off down the track.

Amber's messy ponytail flew as the wind whistled in her ears. Her chocolate colored eyes echoed her happiness and joy, a laugh escaping her smiling lips. Adrenaline pulsed through her as she skated down the track, feeling like she was flying. Sweat dripped down her face as she urged her resisting, tired, pumping legs to keep her rolling, before taking an admiring glance towards her brother. Jack realized, not for the first time, that she was one of the three most amazing people in his life. The first time he realized it was when she opened her big, brown eyes for the first time, and saw her brother holding her, as well as her mother and father leaning over his shoulder, all staring with love. As Amber cooed when her father tickled her chin, Jack silently made a vow to protect his newborn sister until his dying breath had escaped his lips.

* * *

Jack let out a muffled sob, willing himself not to let the threatening wails and whimpers escape him. The annoying tears waited for him to break, as he already had multiple times. Every time he thought of Amber another wave of crying and curling himself into a ball met him. He was in one of the back rooms in North's workshop, where there was nothing but a flat bed and a few stacked boxes filled with toys, and there was no light in the room. The faded yellow curtain on the small window was up, letting a very blue lighting reflect off of the frost designs, snow, and frozen tears around him that had fallen in his despair. Cindy had tried to comfort him, but there were some things that even wind spirits couldn't do. So she swirled beside him, letting him know that another presence was there in his time of need. It helped to know such, but Jack couldn't find his voice long enough to thank her, but she understood by the look in his sad, weak, clear blue eyes.

"Jack? Are you okay?" Tooth asked. Jack glanced back towards her soothing voice, and found all of the Guardians, plus the Pitch Black family, standing at the door. Donovan's eyes were swirled so brightly red it looked like they would pop out of his head, he was wincing like someone had stabbed him in the chest, and he looked just about ready to scream, yet the King of Pain didn't move. Jack had no clue how long they had been there, but he hoped it wasn't long. He wiped the frozen tears from his face as Tooth, who was already close enough to reach out and touch him, hesitated.

"Yeah, it's the best day of my whole life." Jack muttered sarcastically. "Why do you ask?" He hissed, glaring at her. Once the words escaped his lips, he regretted it, but Tooth didn't look too shocked. Though it was the first time she had heard him speak rudely to her, she couldn't have expected any less. After all, he had just watched his sister die in his arms. Tooth winced at the reminder.

Jack hesitated a moment. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Don't worry about it." Tooth replied quickly, understanding fully. "Jack, we just came to remind you, you know we're here for you, and we always will be."

"That's the problem, though." Jack looked away, tears threatening to come back. "You guys were there for me, but I wasn't there for her. I promised, -I _vowed_- I would protect her. And now..." He glared at his feet as two frozen tears landed on the frosted ground. He sighed shakily. "I-I should probably go outside and punch something."

"If it helps..." Tooth shrugged.

Jack tried to give her an attempted smile, but that smile scared her. Not because it was large and maniac-looking, no, because it was so small and weak. Jack had given her much better fake smiles that looked much more genuine, even when he was reliving his past as a lonely winter spirit left alone for three centuries. Yet the blow of Amber's death had taken away his will to even fake being alright. "Oh, I know it won't help, Tooth. But I think it's better than destroying this room. _And_ freezing you guys to death." He tapped the ground with his staff, his frost, snow, wind, and icicle tears instantly sucked into it, and then he jumped out the window, the yellow curtain blowing behind him.

* * *

{Past}

"Hey, sleepy head. Get up. The sun's rising, and you gotta see this." Jack urged her, shaking her softly from sleep.

"Ugh. Alright." Amber moaned, trying to get the sleepy look out of her face. She followed Jack outside to watch the sun beautifully turn pink and orange as they played hopscotch.

"Why do we do this everyday, Jack? I mean, it's really fun, but I didn't think that when we did it that one day, we would keep doing it over and over..." Amber looked at him before jumping onto a different square on their hopscotch area. "Why?"

Jack chuckled to himself, but couldn't find the answer. It always just seemed fun, and it ended up a bad habit. Or, more likely, a good habit. So Jack just answered how his mischievous, spunky self would; "Why not?"

Amber grinned. "Good point."

* * *

"Augh!" Jack shot his strongest wave of ice aimlessly._ 'Not** only** have I failed her, I had **blamed** her for taking Jamie, when all she was doing was trying to **protect** him! Why do I have to be such an idiot?!'_ A sob escaped him. Although he tried to remain standing, his knees gave out and he fell to the cold, frozen ground. Of course, winter was never cold to him. There was just a presence of regular temperature that would bend, appear, fly, disappear, and fall at his will. He curled in on himself and let the tears continue to fall.

And although the hard ground itself is never comfortable to lay on, but he found himself falling asleep from exhaustion.

* * *

Later that night, right after the Pitch Black family had left to go home, Tooth found herself worriedly looking out the window, only to see one of the most horrifying sights she had seen in a long time. It was hard to see, through a blizzard with large, sharp hail, but it looked quite like Jack was laying on the cold, snowy ground, slowly getting covered up by his own storm. His body looked so lifeless that it terrified her. The snow was collecting quickly, and it would soon cover him until he was feet deep in snow. Asleep, and unable to get out, he would most probably suffocate. That, or get pounded by hail to death. And...

She ran outside without thinking to get the other Guardians, so they just about learned it by her small occasional shrieks.

The wind was wailing out of control, and Cindy found herself being tossed around like a rag doll, after all, she was a wind spirit, but the wind was still a thing on it's own, but the least she could do was block some of the hail, snow, and ice from reaching Tooth, as she was trying to help Jack.

Of course, that did little to help poor Tooth, who was just about to freeze to death, but she continued to go towards Jack.

Just then, North, Bunny, and Sandman noticed them. North had to struggle to keep the window open, as the wind was not being nice to the old thing. Sandy used his sand to try and keep the hail from reaching the two. "Bunny!" North exclaimed, but the Easter Rabbit was already on the job. Bunny tapped the ground beneath him the moment he stepped foot outside, and grabbed both Tooth and Jack, and then carried them back through the window.

They instantly threw a blanket over Tooth, but Jack was a different story. Besides having a few bruises from the large hail, he was perfectly fine. Yet frozen tears fell down his face in his sleep. After a few moments, he finally awoke, and stared in shock at the sight before him. Tooth was freezing cold, holding hot chocolate and a plate of cookies, and a thick blanket wrapped around her. Yet even in her cold state, she did not leave his side.

The moment Tooth saw his eyes open, she called, "Guys! He's awake!"

The rest of the Guardians stopped what they were doing and rushed in.

"You okay?" Tooth looked at him worriedly.

"I should be asking you the same thing." Jack replied. "What _happened_?"

"Um,-" Tooth pointed outside. Jack was instantly reminded of his blizzard in '68. However, this was much worse. The snow, hail, and ice was high enough to cover more than half of the window and door, so it would take forever for them to get out. (That is, if they didn't have a winter sprite on their side.) A small gasp escaped him.

Jack then felt the pain on his back and looked to find his multiple bruises. He looked back outside, and he hung his head so they couldn't see his face._ 'Damn, what have I done?'_ He growled to himself quietly, and then recollected himself before turning back to them and spilling out his apologies. "I am so, _so_ sorry, guys! Tooth, are you okay?" Guilt and worry was written clearly in his eyes and on his face.

"I'm fine, Jack." Tooth replied as she and the others brushed off his multiple apologies.

"What happened, exactly?"

"I don't know, I just saw you out there with all this hail hitting you, and all this snow coming out of nowhere, and you weren't moving-and I just panicked." Tooth replied.

Jack glanced at the snow again. Judging by where he was when he fell asleep, he would be six or more feet under the snow, suffocating, whether the cold effected him or not. He looked at Tooth again, and let a sigh escape him. "Thank you, guys, for being there." And then he looked back towards outside. "I'll go clear that out. Be right back."

As he said he would, Jack moved all the snow away from the pole. It felt amazing, to have so much power, but he would have to be careful, as if he let himself get consumed in his thoughts, it would be that recent disaster all over again. Yet thoughts still came to him...

How was he going to live without Amber? Now that he had their memories in his head, and he had watched as the life faded from her in his arms...

Jack sighed. He wasn't going to live. Not really. He would never be alive again, not with that gigantic piece of him Amber took with her.

It took him all day and half a night, but Jack finally got all his snow out of the way. He felt better, honestly. It felt like he had pushed and pulled all his anger and despair away, and left nothing but a scar, a wound just waiting to reopen. Yes, Jack Frost would cry another day, but that day would not be today. Not again.

Bunny watched him a moment before coming outside, noting the circles under the winter spirit's eyes. "Eh, frostbite, you okay out there, mate? You look really tired."

"Y-Yeah, fine..." Jack replied, exhausted, before falling over. Bunny rushed over and caught the Guardian of Fun. Jack tried to speak, but it came out as incomprehensible mutters. His tired muscles didn't respond to him, so he could only let the sleep awaiting him overwhelm him. Although the soft and warmness of Bunny's fur should've made the Winter Guardian uncomfortable, Jack fell asleep in the Guardian of Hope's arms.

* * *

**Woohoo, finally thawed my legs from Jack's wrath!**

**Annnnnnnnnd chapter done! Yay! (I just discovered that 'yay' isn't in my computer's dictionary. It is NOW. lol) Now, for the last chapter, the big finale... it's coming up, soon!**

**Bunny: Yeah, that's good an' all, mate, but could I have a little bit o' help here?**

**Oh, yeah. Sure. *Helps him carry Jack inside***

**Jack: ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzZZZZZZzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzZZZZZZZ zzzzzzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz...**

**Wow. I can tell why people won't stop fangirling over this guy. Seriously, he looks so peaceful...**

**I'd better go, kangaroo, before he wakes up and kills me for putting him through this misery...**

**Bunny: Yeah. That'd be good...And it's BUNNY!**


	10. Chapter 10: Guardian of Courage

Amber:

_Jack._

_Donovan._

_Satan..._

I had no clue where I was. There was a bright blue light that hurt to look at, and then around me there was nothing but a few wisps of that light. And everything had a serene blue lighting to it, no matter what it was. A small light of blue passed by me, tickling my hand. I couldn't resist the urge to giggle.

_Wait...I died..._

_How am I..._

_How am I thinking?_

_What the..._

"Amber." A silky, deep voice called. I looked around, and found no one but that annoyingly bright blue light. It slowly dimmed until it took a form of a blue silhouette of a man. His hair, skin, lips, etc, had no color but blue, but his eyes were like two glowing lights.

"Where am I, and who are you?" I asked.

"On the moon, and you can call me Manny."

I gawked at him. "I'm...on the moon?" I looked down, but there was nothing but light and a few shades of random blue here and there. _If I had to name one place that looks like heaven, this would be it._ "Am I...Am I dead?"

"Sort of." He replied. "That's up for you to decide. You have two options. You can die, like I know you've wanted to for centuries, or I can bring you back as an immortal and you can live with your brother forever."

"First of all, that's an obvious choice. Second, I have two questions. If you didn't, who made me immortal last time?"

"Derrick Satan Rolo, or Satan, as you know him." Manny replied.

"Uh huh..." _That bastard. Making me live for three centuries alone._ "Next question, what's the catch?"

"There is no catch..."

"Oh please, there's always a catch, when it comes to that kind of deal." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, you would have to be the Guardian of Courage."

I sucked in a breath. _Me? The Princess of I-Destroy-Everything? The one who burns, breaks, and kills everyone around her? A freaking Guardian? Of freaking **courage**? **Me**?_

"I...can manage that." I finally lied.

"Alright, good. Because if you can't, I'd have to," He let a small dagger peek out slightly from behind him, and then he hid it again, "pull the plug, if you know what I mean."

I swallowed. "Yeah, I get what you mean."

"And your decision, is?"

"Please, _please_, just take me back to my brother." I begged him. If he had said no, I was more than willing to get on my knees and beg until he couldn't take it anymore.

"As you wish." He waved his hand, and the blue light around us grew, until it was too bright to see.

* * *

Amber:

I blinked constantly, surprised by sudden dimness.

_Ugh. Man, what's up with weird bed I'm in...?_

_Oh my gosh, I'm in a coffin!_

"Oh my god!" I jumped out. Every muscle in me resisted, and I felt lazy, as if I had just gotten up from sleep. I stretched and let my back crack, before looking down at my clothes. I found that the outfit I was wearing had changed. Instead of my usual tank top and jeans, I had something like a jump suit, similar to Tooth's, except I had no feathery headdress, and the colors were yellow, amber, red, and orange. It was very pretty, but awkwardly uncomfortable.

I was in some room with a coffin and candles. To my left was a window where the full moon shone bright. I grabbed my axes, which were on a table beside me. A doorway led to the kitchen, and I walked towards it.

The Guardians were all 'chilling out' across the room. Sandy was crying in his sleep, (I could only tell by golden tears, as, even asleep, the Guardian of Dreams didn't make a sound) Jack was staring off into space, (I tell you, he looked like a widower who just lost a kid) Bunny was reading 'Easter Decorations' (really?), Tooth was sitting beside Jack, talking to him, (I've never seen her look more motherly) and North was chipping away at a block of ice to make something like me with a sigh, (damn, for a fire girl, I looked good in ice. Then again, I look good everywhere) and the Pitch Black family were chatting in a tight circle like some kind of team at a football match. (Don't ask me how I know what that looks like. I mean, come on, the dudes were hot, and they were beating each other up over a ball. Ridiculous, and totally awesome.)

I walked out, and felt like laughing when they didn't even look up from what they were doing. **_Kaboom moment!_** "Look, if I ever die again, do _not_ put me in a coffin. You have no clue how uncomfortable they are." They all gawked at me.

I then saw Jack rushing towards me at an impossible speed, arms open for a hug.

So I punched him. Right in the jaw.

"Ha, that's Amber for ya. Still surprising you. What the hell was that for?" Jack demanded, holding his smarting side of his face.

"If I know you at all, I know you blamed yourself when I died." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well-yeah! Of course I did! I failed you, I should've been there, I should've been fighting beside you, I should've-"

I slapped him, but hardly with any force at all. "Shut up, _now_. It's not your fault, and you know it. I died because it was my choice, end of story. So shut up and forgive yourself before I give you a black eye."

"And if I do?"

"Then I'll hug you."

"Fair enough."

I hugged him, and soon felt many other arms join in.

I found tears in Jack's eyes. "Aw, you're not getting all sappy on me, are you?"

"N-No." Jack lied, wiping at his eye.

"Sure, sure." I grinned.

"Damn, Amber, that bloody show pony is a freakin' mountain of miserableness without you." Bunny muttered.

"Oh, trust me, I know." I laughed.

"Amber...how did... what did...who..." Tooth grinned, her hands shaking from excitement.

"Yeah! What happened- when did... why...how are you..." Invidia began, just as jumpy.

"Alive? Da Man in the Moon, ladies and gentlemen." I waved my arms dramatically towards the full moon in the sky.

The look on Donovan's face was by far the most hilarious out of all the Black family. First he just stared, frozen, and then fainted. (He kept on denying it, but we all saw him.) So, yeah, it was a fun day.

Oh, but it got better.

"Oh, Pippa!" Jack grinned suddenly, yanking me into the sky with him. (That was when Will welcomed me back, too. Man, I'm sorry, but that guy is just so awesome, wind spirit or not.)

"Who? What?" I asked, but he just laughed and didn't reply.

I got even more confused when we headed towards Burgess.

* * *

"Hey, guys, look!" Jack called out. Six heads all glanced at him, stopping their little pool party.

"Whoa, you're even prettier than I imagined!" Pippa stared at the fire girl.

"Who-?" Amber turned around, and found nothing but a tree behind her. She looked back to Pippa, and surprisingly found that her eyes weren't on the tree, they were on her, not looking through her like everyone usually did. "M-Me? You can see me?!"

Pippa grinned and nodded. "Yeah! 'Course I can!"

"Wooooow. Wow. _Wow_! But, how-?" Amber looked towards her very guilty-looking brother. "...You didn't..."

"I did."

"_Oh my gosh_!" Amber screamed at the top of her lungs. She quite forgot that the kids around her could hear, as normally, she could scream into the heavens and no one would notice her. She flew up at the speed of a cheetah until she was a mere dot in the sky, and then came crashing down, slowing down just before she landed. She grinned uncontrollably. "You guys...You guys can really...really see me..." Then, a small amount of doubt crossed her face, and, hesitantly, she reached out and tapped Pippa's shoulder, waiting for her hand to go through her, and for her to feel cold, to feel empty, to feel so ghost like...and her hand actually touched the girl in the white cap.

"Oh...my...gosh..." She gawked. "You guys...you seriously..._believe_...in _me_?"

They all nodded, grinning at her. Then she had the whole freak out all over again.

"She's acting way worse than you did..." Jamie muttered, leaning towards his Guardian.

"Well, she's a girl, what can you expect?" Jack replied in a hushed voice. Unfortunately for him, Amber heard. And that led to her flying towards him and knocking him over before anyone could blink.

"Oof!"

* * *

That night, Amber sat down on the grass with her family, which was her brother, the Guardians, the Pitch Black family, Manny, and her believers. After all, family isn't about who you're related to, it's about who loves you, and who you love back.

And Amber sat there, staring up at the stars, her life finally feeling complete. _Herself_ finally feeling complete.

"Amber...does this mean...you're a Guardian?" Jack looked at her.

"Er, that's what Mr. Man in the Moon here intended, like, the Guardian of Courage or something...but, uh..." Amber sighed. "I'm destruction, I'm anger, despair, hurt, pain...all just wrapped up in a pathetic, weak girl. I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a Guardian."

"That what Jack said, now look at him!" North laughed. "One day, you will be!"

"Don't count on it, buster." Amber sighed and laid back, her eyes resting on the moon.

"You're not gonna stick to your word?" Satan peeked out from now his prison in Hell.

"What do you mean?" Manny glanced at him.

"You basically said you'd kill her if she wasn't a Guardian."

"Oh please, _I'd_ do _that_? That was just to scare her, and see if she'd still keep her courage. Besides, Amber will be a Guardian, when the time comes. She's just not ready to forgive herself yet."

"Yuck." Satan glared down at them laughing, looking like he was gonna throw up. "All this cheerfulness is making me sick."

"Then go back to Hell, Satan, and stay there for all eternity."

"Oh, no, Man in the Moon, I _will_ be back."

Manny grinned slightly. "That's what they all say." He looked back down at the happy family.

"Oh, and _really_, Manny? A freaking_ jumpsuit_?!" Amber called to him.

Manny chuckled and snapped his fingers, and Amber was wearing her jeans a t-shirt again.

"That's better! Thank you!" She called back, and then laid back down with her family.

* * *

***Sigh* We're done, ladies and gent. Literally. This story is done. (Ha, I wish. Now I get to go back and edit a thousand times...) Poor Pitch, I had you so out of character...**

**Pitch: *glares***

**Now, does everyone still hate me?**

**Amber: Eh.**

**Eh? That's IT? Instead of having the movie's ending, where you flipping watched Jack die before your eyes and never got to see him again, I have MY ending, where you became a freaking fire girl with a fire horse and you get to live with your bro for all freaking eternity! And you say 'eh'?!**

**Amber: Fine, fine. But you just HAD to put us all through Hell? TWICE?**

**Come on, that's like, my job. (Wish I got paid for it.) To torture characters until they think they're gonna die, and then make it all happy and crap...right?**

**Jack: Seriously? You suck.**

**Yeah. I know. But hey, I finished a over 30,000 word story that has so many words I seriously don't care to count. So, mission accomplished.**

**Everyone: AND GOODBYE!**

**Amber: Hope to never see you again!**

**Ooooh, but that's the fun part. I WILL see you again, because sequels are just too freaking awesome to ignore.**

**Jack: Shit, shit, please no!**

***Laughs like a maniac* ENJOY YOUR ROMANCE WHILE YOU CAN, SUCKERS! *Points at Donovan and Amber* 'CUZ YOU GUYS GONNA HAVE A KID!**

**Amber: Wait, WHAT?**

**Donovan: ...You can't just...say that...we...you can't just...do _that_!**

**Oh, but I can. And I freaking will. And it'll be boy. Or a girl... What should his name be...? Hmm...Ooh, and I know! HE LIKES PITCH!**

**Pitch: Hey, hey, don't bring me into this...**

**Sorry, man, but I gotta have a fanfic where YOU'RE ACTUALLY IN CHARACTER. Plus, it's gonna SO fun to torture you...that, or I could make a crossover with Pitch and My Little Pony...**

**Pitch: I hate you.**

**AND SO IT CONTINUES!**

**-ihearthorses6000**


End file.
